LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



H Book of lpra\>er 



H Book of prater 



THE PUBLIC MINTSTBATIONS OF 



HENET WARD B"EEOHEE 



COMPILED FRQM~UNPUBLISHED REPORTS BT 

T. J^LLINWOOD 

FOR THIRTY YEARS Mr/bEECHER'8 SPECIAL STENOGRAPHER 



NEW YORK 
FORDS, HOWARD, & HULBERT 



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1892 



£ 




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COPYRIGHT, IN 1892, 

By T. J. ELUNWOOD. 



The Library 

WA§mmrox 



PREFACE. 



This little volume is issued in response to re- 
peated solicitations, and in the hope and belief 
that it will meet with a warm reception and carry 
peace and consolation to many hearts. 

The Introduction is made up of extracts from 
Sermons and Lecture-room Talks by Mr. Beecher 
on the subject of Prayer. 

The Prayers are selections from unpublished 
short-hand notes taken at the various weekly ser- 
vices in Plymouth Church, between the years 1858 
and 1887. Where practicable, the dates are given ; 
but there are many, originally written out (but not 
used) for publication with dated sermons, for 
which the clue of time has been lost. There has 
been therefore no attempt to arrange them chrono- 
logically. 

Of course, in the reports of regularly recurring 
public ministrations one will necessarily come upon 

3 



4 PREFACE. 

many iterations of what might almost be called 
functional petitions, — such as those for the Presi- 
dent of these United States and others joined with 
him in authority; the Congress; rulers; magis- 
trates, etc., which are proper and necessary in 
their place and time of delivery, yet not especially 
edifying in a collection of prayers. Those, there- 
fore, and other similar matter, have been omitted. 
In the editing and arrangement of these Prayers 
I have had the assistance of Mr. John K. Howard, 
who for so many years enjoyed the confidence of 
Mr. Beecher in preparing reports of his sermons 
and other literary matter for issuance in book 
form. 

T. J. E. 

Brooklyn, March, 1892. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Preface, 3 

Introduction, 7 

invocation— prayer before sermon— closing 

PRAYER. 

Vision of God, 21 

God in Christ, 29 

God's Goodness, 37 

Man's Weakness, 43 

Filial Courage, 48 

Parental Responsibility, 54 

A Sabbath Day, 61 

For Spiritual Discernment, 68 

Comfort in Prayer, 76 

The Wonders of Grace, 83 

The Sympathy of God, 89 

At the Close of a Year, 95 

God's Presence, 101 

The Greater Life, 105 

God's Fatherliness, 109 

5 



6 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

The Dullness of Earthly Vision, 114 

Refuge from Trouble, 121 

Divine Strength for Human Weakness, 126 

For Faith in the Unseen, 131 

Under Chastisement, 137 

The Stability of Faith, 142 

The Lesson of Rest, 148 

Lowliness and Royalty, 154 

Vitality of Goodness, 160 

The Better Land, 167 

From Generation to Generation, 173 

The Communion of Saints, 178 

For the Restoration of Faith, 185 

The Faithfulness of Christ, 191 

For Uplifting, 198 

The Privileges of Prayer, 204 



INTRODUCTION. 



THE NATURE OF PRAYER. 

In" its simplest enunciation, prayer is some act \ 
by which a human mind comes into communion ( 
with God. Its essential nature is the offering to / 
God of our thoughts and feelings. It may be de- 
fined as the act of bringing the whole of a man's 
mind into direct, conscious intercourse with the 
Divine Mind. It is the coming of a soul into the J 
presence of God for the purpose of communi- / 
eating to him, as to a parent, its joy, its sorrow, its » 
hope, its fear, its desire, or whatever other experi- 
ence it may have. It is sunning some thought of 
feeling in the light of God's face. It is a recogni- 
tion of God's presence. It is the habit of moving 
one's thoughts toward God. It is making every- 
thing one does, under all circumstances, suggest 
God, and carry the mind easily where he is. It is 
as comprehensive in its scope and as varied in its 

7 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

details as all our faculties and their myriad com- 
binations. 

No other one exercise of religious feeling has 
been so universal to the human race. It is not 
peculiar to Jews and Christians. It is employed 
alike by men of the true faith and by men of other 
religions. The idea that the human mind may 
have commerce with the divinities or with the 
Deity has been uniformly recognized in all ages, 
by all nations, and under all conditions of intelli- 
gence and civilization. Though the details of 
prayer, its philosophy, its times and methods, and 
its possible benefits have been subjects of endless 
doubt and debate, yet the fact itself that a human 
being may commune with the Divine Father has 
been universally accepted. 

The tendency to pray is original. It is innate. 
Provision for it is made in the structure of the 
mind. However much nations have differed in 
their customs and religions, the ripest and best 
natures have tended toward commerce with in- 
visible superior beings, or with the Supreme. 

PHASES OF PRAYER. 

Classified under a few simple heads: prayer 
may be only an act of confession, and occupy itself 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

in a penitential rehearsal of one's sins and failings. 
There are moods and seasons in which this should 
be the burden of every Christian man's prayer, and 
there are some natures to whom this kind of 
prayer is more natural than any other. 

Or, prayer may be an act of supplication; as 
when it occupies itself with solicitation for mercies 
or with deprecation of evils, beseeching the send- 
ing down of Divine mercy or the averting of 
Divine displeasure. This kind of prayer is very 
comprehensive. It stretches out with endless vari- 
ation of detail. At times it is suitable for every 
one; but there are some natures that deal in it 
too exclusively, their experience in addressing 
God being almost wholly that of entreaty. 

Or, prayer may be a more tranquil exercise of 
simple communion, in which a loving nature 
spreads before God the simple life of the hour, as 
children at evening converse with their parents, 
or as the disciples under the olive-trees over against 
Jerusalem related to the Master the events of the 
day, and received instruction from his lips. 

Or, prayer may be an act of thanksgiving, a 
recognition of God's goodness, an expression of 
gratitude for blessings received. 

Or, finally, prayer may be the simple utterance 
of praise ; as when the soul is made vividly to per- 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

ceiye the wisdom, the beneficence, or the glory of 
God, in providence or in grace, toward others or 
toward one's self, in respect to the past, the 
present, or the future. 

While prayer may consist of any or all of these 
elements, ordinarily they mingle with or succeed 
each other, the soul ranging from one feeling to 
another. Each step prepares for the next. The 
confession of sin introduces a thought of benig- 
nity. That enkindles gratitude; and often we 
come almost unconsciously from an acknowledg- 
ment of our unworthiness to the act of praising 
God. The expression of thanks calls up ideas of 
Divine goodness and glory, so that the soul cannot 
but experience admiration. "When this is softened 
by veneration it is simple worship; when it is also 
enriched by love it is adoration. In any com- 
prehensive Christian experience that utters itself 
in prayer, confession, supplication, communion, 
thanksgiving, and praise come and go and blend 
to form the great whole, as do the tones of differ- 
ent instruments in a well-chorded orchestra. In 
other words, prayer is the simple interchange of 
thought and feeling with God; rising out of con- 
scious sensuousness into spirituality; turning one's 
self away from the things of time, and standing 
upon the threshold of the eternal world. 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

Prayer should be just what one feels, just what 
one thinks, just what one needs; and it should 
stop the moment it ceases to be the real expres- 
sion of the need, the thought, and the feeling. It 
should grow out of an atmosphere of daily ex- 
perience, and should recognize the whole round of 
one's life. This is the highest form. And such 
prayer is easy. Men would pray more and better 
if they felt that they had a right to pray always, 
and about everything — as they have. And let it 
be remembered that aspiration is prayer, that 
ejaculation is prayer, and that interjection is prayer. 
Prayers are words in the sentence of the day, and 
the smallest one is a word. As we grow older we 
make fewer petitions, though we pray more; and 
our petitions as we grow older are less and less for 
ourselves and more and more for our fellow men. 

Prayer is not without the intellectual element, 
but it is essentially a thing of the heart. It 
springs from a sense of weakness and want, and 
from a certain spiritual aspiration. It is as cer- 
tain that the heart lifts itself up to something 
above it as that sparks and flames lift them- 
selves up into the air when they are kindled. 
The finer, the larger, the richer, the truer the 
natures of men are, the more a tendency toward 
something higher than the mere senses is shown 



12 INTROD UCTION. 

in them. In general, the truest spirit of prayer 
is that which the most nearly resembles the affec- 
tionate, confiding disposition of a little child. 

A true praying spirit is one which holds itself 
in such relations to God that the mood which is 
predominant is constantly being opened and 
emptied before him. And if men had liberty, if 
they felt that prayer was not compulsory, but that 
it was a conversation, as it were, confined to no 
prescribed line of subjects, they would find pray- 
ing a much more profitable exercise than they 
often do. 

UNCEASING PRAYER. 

The injunction, " Pray without ceasing/* means, 
not that we are literally to iterate and reiterate 
the words of prayer, but that we are to give to the 
praying tendency of the mind that education 
which we give to faith, to kindness, to conscien- 
tiousness and to understanding, and which causes 
these elements to act continually. We are to 
make it a tendency — not occasional, but uniform 
and constant, so that when we are not praying by 
direct volition there will be a latent aspiration in 
that direction felt throughout the soul. There is 
to be such a leaning toward converse with God 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

that every day, every hour, there shall be a move- 
ment of the soul toward prayer. The ideal for 
education in the habit of prayer is the bringing of 
the soul into a state such that it shall tend per- 
petually toward communion with God. Not that 
all other modes of praying are wrong, but that 
whatever mode is taken should point toward this 
ideal. 

Special occasions of prayer are not to be con- 
demned. There is great benefit in them, even if 
they are imperfect and if they do less for men 
than men need to have done. Not only are they 
not inconsistent with prayer without ceasing, but 
they may conduce to it. If a man prays on the 
Sabbath, if he prays in the household, if he has 
anniversaries of prayer that stand out from his 
habit of praying in his own thoughts from day to 
day, he may be said to pray always. He will be 
like a tranquil lake with islands in it; there will 
be in his life the uniform praying spirit; and here 
and there over the surface will be these memorial 
occasions. 

THE LORD'S PRAYER. 

This universal petition is important as con- 
sidered in its relations to the framing of theologi- 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

cal doctrines. The work of theology is a legiti- 
mate work, and this prayer stands, so to speak, as 
a guide-board to point men to the heavenly Jeru- 
salem, which theologians should heed, and from 
which they should understand that they cannot 
take one step toward painting God until they have 
recognized his fatherhood. Every other divine 
attribute is to be made subordinate to this. Every 
man in the world has access to God through this 
prayer. No matter how sinful he may be, no 
matter how far he may have wandered from the 
path of rectitude, there is mercy for every human 
being that needs mercy and will seek it. The 
fatherhood of God covers the whole range of our 
wants. The shortest distance between the world 
and the Throne above is that between the lip of 
the penitent and the ear of God; and the moment 
a man that is sinful has a sense of his sinfulness, and 
wants God to help him toward righteousness, that 
moment he has a right to say, " Our Father who 
art in heaven." He that can utter these words in 
the fullness of their meaning, or with any con- 
siderable appreciation of them, is not far from the 
kingdom of heaven, from the sonship of God, or 
from being an heir with Christ to all the glory of 
an eternal inheritance. 



INTRODUCTION. 15 



LIBEETY OF PEAYEE. 

It is the right, even of those who are not pos- 
sessed of strong feelings of any kind 3 to pray. 
Prayer, being the offering of one's thoughts and 
feelings to God, should always have a relation to 
the nature that employs it. There is such a thing 
as growth in prayer; but the first quality of Chris- 
tian liberty is the right of every man to lisp if he 
cannot speak; to speak in broken numbers if he 
is not fluent; to pray in small circuits if he cannot 
in large. Each one is to bring to his Father just 
that mind which has been given to him. As it is 
in the habit of expression among ourselves, so it 
may be and so it should be in the habit of ex- 
pressing ourselves in communion w ith God. Great 
simplicity, the utmost frugality of expression, in 
prayer, satisfies some natures, and they have a 
right to it ; nor should they chafe and fret in their 
conscience as if they were delinquent because they 
cannot pray as eloquent men of tumultuous ex- 
pression do. Eloquence is a beautiful and useful 
gift, but it is not indispensable to prayer. This 
liberty ought not to be so construed as to prevent 
growth and enriching; but, as an initial experi- 
ence, simplicity of devotion is genuine. The 



16 NTRODUCTION. 

presentation of thoughts and feelings consciously 
to God is prayer; the presentation to God of the 
thoughts and feelings of one who is without vener- 
ation — if his unvenerating nature be conscientious 
—is prayer; and the presentation to God of the 
thoughts and feelings of one whose predominant 
sentiment is love is prayer; but the prayer of each 
is partial. He that prays only by veneration, or 
by conscience, or by affection, is a partialist. He 
is like a musician that has no scale, and plays on 
a monochord. Every man should seek to add to 
the richness of his gifts by mingling others with 
them. 



DANGEES OF PEAYEE. 

One of these is the superstitious, unintelligent 
idea that there is something in praying which will 
produce blessings without regard to whether or 
not it is an utterance of the thoughts and feelings 
of the heart. The more intelligent one's prayer 
is, the better he understands it and the more con- 
sciously he brings his thoughts and feelings into 
the presence of God, — the more he will be blessed. 

The next danger of prayer is that of formality, 
which leads to poverty, narrowness, meagerness. 
Men fall into habits of formality in both extern- 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

poraneous and written prayers; and formalities 
invariably diminish the profit of prayer,, simply 
because in their use one set of expressions is made 
to perform the service of all sorts of feelings. 

Another danger is that of selfishness in prayer. 
It besets particularly Christians that are advanced 
in religious life, and to whom prayer has become 
a constant or at least a frequent exercise. This 
danger is one that especially belongs to intense 
natures; but all natures are more or less subject 
to it. We should be in such sympathy with God 
that we should have much to pray for as touching 
the honor and glory of his name; we should be in 
such sympathy with divine Providence that we 
should have much to offer thanksgiving for, in the 
events that every day transpire around about us; 
and we should be in such sympathy with our 
fellow-men that we should find in their wants 
much subject-matter for petition. 

NATURALNESS OF PRAYER. 

Do you hesitate about praying, on the ground 
that you do not know how ? Prayer is very simple 
to one who has a correct conception of it. There 
are few persons who cannot say, "God, I thank 
thee for the morning." If you have gone so far, 



18 INTBODUCTION. 

and cannot go any further, you have prayed. 
When you step out of doors you have prayed if 
you say, " God, I thank thee for this bright day/ 5 
Cannot you say, " I thank God for the sunlight " ? 
You may not know how to pray as Deacon A. 
does; but do you not know how to pray as the 
poor sinner does ? Think what is the mercy that 
stands next to you, and thank God for that. If a 
servant brings you anything, you say, " Thank 
you " ; if you are well-bred, you say " Thank you " 
when your companion does you a service; you 
never look upon any token of a person's kindness 
to you that your feelings do not move in gratitude 
toward that person: and can you live in God's 
world, where every minute is loaded with his 
thoughtfulness of you, and not say, "I thank 
you "? To look at a flower, and say, " I thank 
God for that " ; to look at the sky, and say, 
" Through it my thoughts rise toward God ;" to 
look at one's friends, and say, " God be thanked 
for them"; to think of their love, forgiveness, for- 
bearance and helpfulness, and say, " I thank God 
for these " — this is praying. 

There ought to be such gladness, such delight, 
in praying, that when we go to God it shall be 
heart-hunger that takes us to him. As he created 
us, and made the chords of joy — yes, even of 



INTRODUCTION. 19 

mirth — in us, and as communion with him is 
bringing the whole soul to him, we have a right to 
prayer in that direction. The heart may feel an 
inspiration and a rapture in the presence of God 
which it cannot experience anywhere else. If 
God gave you a tendency to rise in rapturous 
prayer, it is your liberty to employ that element 
in your communion with him. If we will but 
cultivate in God's direction the natural tendencies 
with which each one of us is furnished, we have 
the privilege of all joy and happiness in our in- 
tercourse with our heart's Father. 

How fruitful is prayer the moment you take it 
out of the ecclesiastical routine! How natural; 
how helpful; how satisfactory! 



A BOOK OF PRAYER. 



Invocation. 

Our Father, we come not as those that are empty ; 
for we are full of hope. Thy love, and the mercies that 
drop down from thee — thy tender mercies and thy loving 
kindness — they wrap us around as with a robe. "We 
walk as enclosed by the very heart of God ; and night 
and day, wherever we are, we are with thee. We are 
heirs of all things, because the Lord is ours. When we 
ask for ourselves, it is not as if we needed, or as if thou 
didst need to be persuaded : it is in love. We desire to 
ask what we need ; thou hast made it sweet as well as 
needful. And now, vouchsafe to us the disclosures 
of thyself this day. May we know thy presence. As 
the sea knows when storms are gone and the sun shines, 
so may we in our tranquillity know that God is present 
with us. Set us free from doubt, from burden, from 
fear, and from all worldliness ; and grant that we may 
find in the exaltation of our affections, in our fellowship 
one with another, aud in our fervor of devotion that 

21 



22 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

thou art present. So may the services of the morning 
and of the day, here, at our homes and everywhere, be 
blessed of God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 



Virion of <&o&, 

Sunday Morning, May 6, 1877.* 
We rejoice, Lord our God, not in ourselves 
nor in the firm earth on which we tread, nor in 
the household, nor in the church, nor in all the 
procession of things where mankind moves with 
power and glory. We rejoice in the Lord. We 
rejoice in thy strength. A strange joy it is. Day 
by day we find ourselves breaking out into gladness 
through the ministration of the senses, and by 
the play of inward thought ; but thou art never 
beheld by us. We may never lay our hand upon 
thine, nor look into thy face, as did thy disciples 
of old. Thou never speakest to us, nor do we feel 
thy hand, nor do we discern thy face of love and 
glory and power. We break away from all other 
experiences, and look up into the emptiness, as it 
seems to us, which yet is full of life ; into that 
which seems cold and void, but wherein moves 

* Immediately following the reception of members into 
the church. 



VISION OF OOD. 23 

eternal power ; into the voiceless and inscrutable 
realm where thou dwellest, God over all, blessed 
forever. Our thoughts have been taught to go 
there, and our eye has been taught to discern and 
to rejoice in the invisible, with all the strength of 
our nature, as if before us was the Celestial City ; 
we shout again in songs of praise ; and in the si- 
lence of thought we cry out to those that live there 
in holy companies. They are to us as if they were in 
our midst. There is no winter in our sky. There 
is no death above our head. There are no sorrows 
there that beat remorselessly as the sea upon the 
shore. There are no tears there. There is no 
change there except from glory to glory. Eternal 
rest moves with eternal activity. 

Lord our God, how near thou art to us ! and 
we do not know it. How near is the other life ! and 
we do not feel it. It clothes us as with a garment. 
It feeds us. It shines down upon us. It rejoices 
over us. Now and then we catch the inspiration, 
and some feeble joy uprises. Some sympathy inter- 
prets to us what is going on beyond the bound of the 
city. We glory in the Lord, and in his kingdom, and 
in the great invisible realm where royalties belong 
to us, where our crowns are waiting, and where our 
rest remains — the rest that remaineth for the peo- 
ple of God. Thither, out of narrow and anguish- 



9A A BOOK OF PRATER. 

ful ways, out of sorrows, out of regrets, out of 
bereavements, we look ; and already we are rested 
before we reach it. Leaving out the things of 
time, we walk emancipated and glorified. 

Grant unto us, to-day, we beseech thee, this 
beatific vision. * We need it for the solace of our 
care. We need it because of the wickedness which 
overpowers many. We need it because on every 
side we are hedged in, and are made to feel how 
small humanity is, on what narrow ways it walks, 
how easily it is cast down, how weak it is to help 
itself, how time grinds us, and how we are pushed 
everywhither toward infirmity. In youth, strength 
beckons us to embrace it ; but after we have 
reached manhood we wax toward diminishing 
power — nay, not toward it, but beyond it, to youth 
again ; to unwasting power ; to riches and joys 
that dwell at thy right hand for evermore. 

We pray in behalf of all that are present for 
such a ministration of the spirit, this morning, as 
shall make dull things bright, heavy things light, 
and discouragements cheerful. May they who are 
thy children know how to bring light out of dark- 
ness. May those who walk disguised in the gar- 
ments of this life behold the white and shining 
raiment that is theirs. May none feel useless, 
worthless, on whom the blood of Christ has rested., 



VISION OF GOD. 25 

and on whom immortality shall yet wait. May we 
lift ourselves up in the midst of despondencies, as 
beseems the children of the living God. 

Draw near to all that are here. Baptize them 
with the Holy Spirit. Give them the vision and 
insight of faith. Help them to take hold mightily, 
by the hands of their souls, upon the fruit of the 
tree of life, or haply, at least, upon the leaves 
which shall be for their healing. 

We pray that thou wilt be with those who are 
not with us, and yet are with us in our thoughts, 
daily. We pray that thou wilt sustain them, if 
they be upon the sea, if they walk in other lands, 
or if they roam in distant parts of our own land, 
fulfilling the errands of thy providence. To-day 
many thoughts come hither and go out hence. 
This place is to many as Jerusalem was to thy 
servants of old ; and many pray for us and with 
us, and we pray for them and with them. 

Are any greatly sick ? We pray that their sick- 
ness may seem to them as a golden gate ; and may 
they long to depart and be with Christ, which is 
better than life. 

We pray that those who are watching and carry- 
ing burdens for others may be strengthened by the 
consciousness that they are doing as the Master 
did, and that they rule through service. 



26 A BOOK OF PRAYEB. 

We pray, Lord our God, that thou wilt bless 
all those who are about to unite themselves to this 
church, before men, in visible relations. Fill 
them, we beseech of thee, with the power of the 
Holy Spirit. May none of them stumble, or be 
discouraged by the greatness of the way. Grant 
that they may come into our midst as new buds 
break out in a garden among blossoms and leaves, 
and that they may bring forth much fruit. We 
pray for the young among them, that they may be 
able to discern danger, and resist it ; to perceive 
temptation, and overcome it ; and to count them- 
selves good soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ. De- 
liver them from snares. Eescue them from the 
wily and the evil-seeking. Make them strong in 
the Lord. 

And, Father, may others be brought in, a great 
company, from the world, from selfishness, from 
self-indulgence, from stumbling vices, from all 
manner of evil. May their thoughts be turned to 
the nobler way, to the new life, to the treasure of 
the invisible, to the royalty which they owe to the 
Lord their God. May thy kingdom come in this 
church, and thy will be done here as it is done in 
heaven. 

We pray for those who pray, and for those who 
pray not. We pray for those who are afflicted ; 



VISION OF GOD. 27 

for those whose backs are turned upon the right 
way ; for those who watch, and for those who for- 
get and slumber. 

We beseech of thee, Father almighty, that thou 
wilt bless, not us alone, but all the assemblies that 
are gathered to-day to worship in the name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Be with thy servants every 
one. Strengthen them to do their Master's will in 
their Master's spirit. 

We pray for thy cause throughout this land, and 
in all lands. We thank thee that we abide now in 
peace, and that no blood flows in our midst. Ee- 
member the nations that are despoiled by war. 
Make haste, thou Emancipator of mankind ! 
When shall the day come in which fetters shall no 
longer bind, in which bolt and bar shall no longer 
imprison, in which cruelty shall no longer domi- 
neer, and in which men shall weep less and laugh 
more ! Bring forth, Lord God, the day of pre- 
diction; let thy sun come toward the horizon that 
brings the morning twilight ; and may the light 
shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. 



28 A BOOK OF PRATER. 



<ftlci)3tng ^rager. 

We are journeying over the rough and thorny ways of 
life with unsandaled feet. Lord, we need the power of 
God. We need to be taken up into the arms of thy 
mercy, and of thy long-suffering love. We need to be 
carried upon thy bosom, as a mother bears her little 
children. Lift us up. Give us confidence, that we may 
believe that there is something more than morals, some- 
thing more than earthly joy, in following Jesus. Give 
us a belief in that invisible and spiritual temper of the 
soul which brings all sadness to an end, and all joy to a 
consummation. 



GOD IN GHBIST. 



JEnbocatum. 

Amid the thunder of the praise of heaven, amid the 
rejoicings of infinite love, what are the voices which men 
can utter, O Lord, our God ! Yet, in the midst of all 
earthly songs of joy or revelry the cry of the child brings 
quick the father and mother to it ; and in thine ear the 
cry of trouble, the voice of want, the yearning and desire 
even of silence, are more than the tumultuous praise and 
rejoicing of victorious life. Thou that art more thought- 
ful for the one that is in the wilderness than for the 
ninety-and-nine that are safe, listen to us ; for our out- 
cry is of necessity. We need thee, we need thy light, 
thine interpretation of truth, thy guidance and thy vic- 
tory. Even so, open thine hand, O Lord Jesus, and say 
to us, Lo, I am with you : peace be unto you ! 



@ob in <£i)rtet 

Oct. 18, 1868. 
0, thou who hast slept, thou whom the rock 
didst embrace and darkness infold — thou art come 
forth ! It is eternal morning with thee. Death is 
beneath thy feet. From thine hands shine out the 
rays of eternal life. Infinite bounty is thine. Thou 
that wert stripped of all things, and rejected; thou 



30 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

whose very raiment was poor — in thine eternal 
fullness thou art now clothing all, feeding all, 
governing all. Thou hast been the lowest and the 
least, the cast out and the despised : thou art ex- 
alted at the right hand of God to be a Prince and 
a Saviour. And thou hast succor for all that are 
unbef riended ; sympathy for all that are alone; 
suggestion and inspiration for all that are per- 
plexed and blinded. Thy soul comes forth more 
boldly and widely than the sun itself; and thou 
art carrying seasons through all thine illimitable 
universe that have in them no winter, no retroces- 
sion ' r for there is eternal light and eternal warmth, 
and eternal growth and blessedness, wherever thou 
art. We have felt thy power. We have been 
transformed by it. We have felt the old man 
destroyed or wounded or cast down, and the new 
man awakened within us. And now we look upon 
all things with different values. No longer the 
things which the sense beholds are greatest to us. 
Nor is the strength of life in the outward king- 
dom. Therefore, in the invisible is more than in 
the visible; in things that are unseen more treas- 
ures than in things that are seen. 

We thank thee that this beginning- work is going 
on, and that thou, the Author of it, will be the 
Finisher of it, For we lift up our souls to thee, 



GOD ffl CHRIST. 31 

and pray that we may be wholly subdued to thy 
spiritual wisdom, and that the might of the out- 
ward man — that which we share with the lion and 
the beast — we may rise above. Thou hast strength 
of consolation, strength for grander thoughts and 
nobler purposes. Thou hast the power of love and 
the power of universal beneficence. Grant that we 
may have in us the power of truth and equity and 
justice and love. So may the kingdom of God 
come into our souls, whilst thou art governing all 
things by the word of thy power. We thank thee 
that thou art building within the outward realm 
the fairer kingdom where meekness and gentleness 
shall rule; where thy power shall be of the soul 
and not of the right hand of omnipotence. We 
aspire to that kingdom. We long to be joined to 
those that are seeking it. We bless thy name that 
we are joined to thee ; but our footsteps desire to 
take hold of those nobler and loftier strides, which 
the apostles and disciples and holy martyrs took. 
There they are to-day waiting — nay, not waiting, 
but blessedly active — in thy kingdom. Justified 
are they, and made perfect — not forgetting their 
worldly experience, yet elevated far above it. We 
aspire to their society. We are of them. Our 
souls know their relationship. There is that in us 
which calls for them. We rejoice that our hearts 



32 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

go out to all that yet live around about us; but we 
do not forget those that are gone before. They 
are our companions not less because we linger 
in imperfection and they have taken hold upon 
perfect blessedness. Our hearts go out for all that 
have been like thee — for that great and glorious 
train of obscure ones who in prisons, in dungeons, 
or in the wilderness, have been sawn asunder, or 
stoned, or burned, and slain in a thousand cruel 
ways, and have reached through suffering the 
peace and blessedness of thy heavenly kingdom. 
They, too, are our brethren of this fellowship. "We 
are reaching forward toward it, and in our way 
contesting things within and things without. Thou 
art every day inspiring us to it. To this conflict 
we are girded by thine own invisible hand. Our 
hearts feel thee; our spirits seize thee. Thou art 
not speaking with men's voices ; yet we hear thee 
speaking to us, and every day are encouraged to 
make new battle, to gird - up our loins again, to 
put on the whole armor of God; and having done 
all things, to stand. 

And now, Lord, how shall we thank thee for 
the hope and the joy of the present, and for the 
infinite promise of the future ! How can we thank 
thee for the reality of this gift — for the glory and 
the amplitude of it, that we are permitted to love 



GOD IN CHRIST. 33 

thee, that our love is accepted, that thou hast 
opened the palace door of thy soul, and that we 
enter in, and are in thee and of thee! Thou 
earnest to our poverty, thou earnest down to our 
weakness. While we lie level along the ground, 
troubled and cast down, thou dost find us, forgive 
us, encourage us, and put us again upon strength 
to walk along the right way. 

How shall we make mention of thy faithfulness 
with words enough tender and endearing! How 
shall we praise thee enough! All our memories of 
thy goodness to us, at times flock upon us. Thy 
mercies are more than the leaves of the forest. 
They are more than all the drops of the dew that 
fall at night upon flowers, and are purer and 
sweeter, infinitely. Thy goodness has been bound- 
less. We have been walking through it as through 
the wilderness, seeing but the part — unable to see 
the whole. Thou hast passed across our souls with 
influences. Oh, if we had known them, and their 
meaning, what music and gladness wouldst thou 
have awakened within us ! But too often we have 
been as strings unstrung; and while the Master was 
there, we had no music. Yet we thank thee for 
thy meaning; and for so much as has been gained 
upon our faithlessness and backwardness and low- 
ness. We confess our imbecility and pride and 



34 A BOOK OF PBAYEB. 

selfishness. We confess how we are weighed 
down, and how evermore we are gravitating and 
sinking toward the earth. Yet, by thine inspira- 
tion, we thank thee that there has been that in- 
forming spirit and upward tendency, and that we 
have not been carried back again to the very soil 
on which we tread. How shall we thank thee for 
all those sweet links of sympathy and hope by 
which we are made so much to each other! We 
thank thee for all our homes. We thank thee for 
all our loves and affections. We thank thee for 
our aspirations, and for all that blessedness of in- 
terlinked love by which we are feebly and imper- 
fectly practising here those paces which we shall 
interpret in a nobler way when we come to walk 
in the heavenly kingdom, and among perfected 
society. 

We pray now, Lord, that thou wilt still be 
merciful and faithful to us. We do not love thy 
darkness; yet come in night, if need be, to wake 
us from slumber. We do not like thy rod, yet 
smite us therewith, if there be mercy in thy heart. 
We do not like to be overturned, and to have our 
way set back, yet thy will be done, and not ours! 

Grant, we beseech of thee, thou Lover, the work 
of love, which desires perfectness. Secure it in us, 
though it cost tears and sighs and suffering. May 



GOB IN CHRIST. 35 

we know the suffering Saviour, and be willing to 
be suffering disciples. May we not seek pain nor 
turn aside from it. May we not seek mortification 
nor be unwilling to bear it. May we seek only the 
things that are of Christ, in ourselves and in others, 
and take whatever Providence sends, patiently, 
quietly, expectantly, and confidently. 

We beseech of thee, Lord, thy blessing to rest 
on all whom we love. Sanctify all our friendships, 
ennoble them, and give them something of that 
atmosphere which we hope they shall have — sub- 
stantial immortality. Bless, we pray thee, all our 
families; our children; our brothers and sisters; 
our dear absent ones. Eemember those that are 
upon the sea, and those that are in far-off lands. 
Eemember the lost and the wandering, and bring 
them back. Eemember all that are our enemies. Set 
us free from animosity toward all men. Make us 
forgiving, and give a better mind to those that hate 
us. Teach us how to live for the best things and the 
noblest, bearing one another's burdens, being pa- 
tient with one another's mistakes, and seeking by 
love to repair the mischiefs that selfishness is work- 
ing in this world, until thy labor is consummated, 
and our turn shall have come. 

Then forth from thine eternity shall fly the 
swift voice of angels to call us home; and then 



36 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

may men rejoice more than when one is born into 
life, that another is set free. 



Closing draper* 

Accept our thanks, O Father, for the radiancy of the 
truth as made known to us in Jesus Christ, our Lord. 
Forbid that we should disfigure the brightness of thy 
glory, the face of thy love, by fears and by doubts. 
Give to thy people, in their own experience, those ele- 
ments by which they can interpret God to mankind, so 
that they shall be drawn by goodness — not driven by 
fear ; coming as lovers come — not scourged and afraid. 
Give to us such thoughts of thee and such comfort in 
thee that our own experience shall be full of sweetness, 
solicitation and encouragement to those around about 
us. 

Bless all present, to-day. May they go God-laden to 
their homes. And grant, we pray thee, that as they 
who walk in a garden have the perfume with them even 
to their garments, so we may, from the sanctuary, more 
delightful than frankincense and myrrh, bear the sweet 
fragrance of the love of God with us. 



GOD' 8 GOODNESS. 3? 



inbocatuin. 

Be pleased, our Father, not only to be present by that 
general power with which the world is filled, but to grant 
unto us that special influence from thy Spirit that shall 
awake in us some affection, some faith, some hope, that 
there may be the dawn of the soul, and that we may re- 
joice, as outwardly in the rising of the sun, so inwardly 
in the rising of the Sun of Bighteousness with healing 
in his beams. We pray that we may have help to speak 
from thy Word, to consider its truths, and to draw from 
them the nourishment of our lives. Bless us in our 
communion with thee, inspire us with right desires, and 
teach us how to pray. 



(left's (Bocfcness. 

Sunday Morning, May 20, 1877. 
We thank thee, our Father, that thou hast 
made the way of prayer to be a way of pleasantness 
and of peace. Thou hast taken the lions out of 
the way, thou hast stopped the caves of despair, 
and all the pits are filled which fear hath dug. A 
way is cast up, and the ransomed of the Lord re- 
turn thereon with songs and joy on their heads. 



38 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

We have traversed that way; and though it is 
sometimes strait and narrow, we have found it a 
way of strength. 

Grant unto us the evidence in our souls that 
thou nearest prayer. We pray that thon wilt 
give us that rest, that peace, which passeth all 
understanding. Grant, we pray thee, that in the 
hours of solitude we may find thee companionable. 
In times of despondency hear us, thou Morning 
Star, and bring on the day. In times of sorrow 
and of affliction may our voice be to thee as the 
child's voice in the night is to the mother, that 
brings her to it ; and in every time of need may we 
come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy 
and help. 

We rejoice to believe that with thee it is more 
blessed to give than to receive, and that our peti- 
tions are pleasant to thee. Thou art not weary. 
Thou dost not give that thou mayest rid thyself of 
importunity : thou givest out of the abundance of 
thine own heart. Thou grantest unto us the things 
which we need. Thou dost for us exceedingly 
above what we ask or think, for thine own name's 
sake. 

We rejoice that we dwell with no narrow, stern 
judge, who loves law more than those who are un- 
der it. Thou art our Father and our Mother. 



GOD'S GOODNESS. 39 

All that which is best and deepest in the hearts of 
those who love us on earth, is as a speck, compared 
with the infinite Sun of Eighteousness. All thy 
soul moves with currents infinite and fathomless, 
and all thy purposes are for ultimate kindness, and 
for the final good of thy creatures. We draw near 
to thy bountifulness, and rejoice in thee. We re- 
joice though we are imperfect; though we are sin- 
ful; though we are not faithful to our word, nor 
to our knowledge ; though we often go back upon 
friendship, and upon honor, and upon truth, with 
thee, the Dearest and Best, as if thou wert the 
worst. We rejoice that in the fullness and great- 
ness of thy nature we have peace, and rest, and 
hope, and inspiration, and are to have final salva- 
tion. This is a gift, through Jesus our Lord. We 
take it by faith. We inherit it. It is the gift of 
God, without equivalent and without condition. 
Out of the fullness and grandeur of thine own na- 
ture thou art pouring forth treasures upon us. 

And now, Lord, we desire to walk in the faith- 
fulness of love and of holy trust. And in the time 
to come we desire not to let anything daunt us. 
For when have we been forsaken of Thee ? When 
the waters rose, and when the fires were fierce, 
thou didst rescue us from the deep, and save us 
from the flames. And thou hast saved our souls 



40 A BOOK OF PBAYEB. 

from the lions. Thou hast saved us from those 
that would hurt and destroy us. Where, in pov- 
erty, has there been an enemy that thou hast not 
destroyed? Where, in bereavements, has there 
been a poisoned edge that thou hast not turned 
away from our hearts ? Where, in solitariness, in 
weakness, in despondency, in soul-hunger, in un- 
rest of heart, has there been the place that thou 
hast not been with us, to commune and to gra- 
ciously console ? 

Thou God of the inward life as well as of all cre- 
ation, we beseech of thee that the time past may 
suffice for doubt, for fear, and for distress, and that 
in the time to come we may trust thee implicitly, 
and rest upon thee, sure that thou wilt carry our 
souls over the gulf, and through the darkness, be- 
cause thou art G-od, and art unchangeable, the 
same yesterday, to-day, and forever. 

Manifest thyself, thou who art our God and our 
souls' Saviour, to all who are in thy presence, and 
to each as he severally needs. Call every one by 
name, that he may know that God knows him. 
Be the God, not of mankind alone, but of every 
one of us, this day. Accept the services of song 
which we offer thee. Accept our desires for in- 
struction, that we may be better than we are, and 
fulfill the duties of life better than we have done. 



GOD'S GOODNESS. 41 

Breathe, we beseech of thee, upon us the dew of 
heaven, in the relations which we sustain to each 
other in the midst of human affairs. 

Lord, we pray that thou wilt grant grace to 
all, so that as their day is their strength may be 
also. Eemember the aged, and prepare them for 
the glory which lies but just before them. Remem- 
ber those who are in the battle of life. Grant that 
they may gird up their loins, having on the whole 
armor of God. And having done all things, may 
they be able still to stand. 

We pray for those who are coming into life, that 
they may come with hope and self-confidence not 
only, but with the faith of God. May they have 
the shield of faith by which to quench the fiery 
darts of temptation. May they be delivered from 
every snare. May they enter upon Christian man- 
hood with more nobility and purity of character 
than we have evinced. As they rise into life wilt 
thou more perfectly equip them in the Christian 
spirit. 

We pray for our land; and not only for our own 
nation, but for those on our border, that they may 
thrive and prosper. We pray for all the nations of 
the earth. Wilt thou not quench the brand of 
war ? Wilt thou not at last furl the banner of 
darkness and death? Dove, bring forth the 



42 A BOOK OF PRAYER 

white banner, and let it be outrolled, and spread. 
And let the trumpet cease to sound; let the sword 
be forgotten; let cruelty return to the pit; and let 
the whole earth rejoice in thy salvation. 



(Elomng ^rager. 

Accept our thanks, Almighty God, for all the mercies 
in thy revelation, and for the augmentation of that life 
which makes the revelation of divine truth in thy Word 
clearer and clearer by the experience of outward life. 
Cleanse us from mistake, from superstition, and from 
ignorance. Give us believing, trusting hearts, not for 
fear, but for love's sake. May that ladder which Jacob 
saw with his head upon the stone be given also to those 
who have been taught to lie upon the ground with but a 
stone for their pillow. May the angels of God be seen 
ascending and descending; and though the bottom of 
the ladder be upon the ground, may the top be in heaven. 
So bless us, we beseech of thee, because thou lovest us ; 
and teach us to love thee, and to live a life of love for 
Christ's sake. 



MAN'S WEAKNESS. 43 



Inbocatton* 

By thine own Spirit breathe into us that light, O our 
Father, which shall awaken in us the spirit of children 
and spiritual sight. May we arouse from sloth, from 
the slumber of the senses, from all mere worldly things, 
and come into that realm where thou dwellest, which is 
peopled with thy thought of love toward us. May we 
catch the divine inspiration, and by faith discern thee. 
Grant that we may hold communion to-day with thee, 
and behold the eternal verities which can be seen only 
by the spirit, and rejoice in the substance of those hopes 
which thou hast held out to us through Jesus Christ, our 
Lord. Accept our service of song. Look with favor 
upon our devotion and upon our efforts at instruction. 
Help us to rejoice with each other this day, as though 
we sat in the very gate of heaven. 



Jean's* WimkvLtm. 

Oue Father, we do not need to draw near to thee 
as suppliants, to persuade thee. Thy compassion 
is over all the works of thine hand. Thy bounty 
is from eternity to eternity. Thy heart breathes 
forth goodness and mercy — and this is thy nature. 
Infinite power, infinite goodness, infinite wisdom — 



44 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

that is God ; we do not need to make it known to 
thee but ourselves to realize it. We come before 
thee to-night to confess our unworthiness, and our 
consciousness of it; to make known to thee our 
sense of thy goodness to us individually, and to this 
church; and to give thee thanks. In the days 
gone by thou hast been more to us than thou hast 
promised. Thou hast done exceeding above all 
that we asked or thought; and to thy great name 
be the praise and the glory. We desire to confess, 
Lord, that we have not lived according to our 
promises, nor according to the thoughts and intents 
of our hearts. We have felt the gravitation of 
things that drew us downward from things high 
and holy. We have followed right things how 
feebly! Weak are we to resist the attraction of 
evils that lurk about the way of goodness ; and we 
are conscious that we walk in a vain show. We 
behold and approve thy law, but find it hard to 
obey; and our obedience is of the outside, and not 
of the soul and of the spirit, with heartiness and 
full of certainty. We rejoice that thou art a 
Teacher patient with thy scholars, and that thou 
art a Father patient with thy children. Thou art 
a God of long-suffering goodness, and of tender 
mercies, and therefore we are not consumed. 
And now we beseech of thee, thou unwearied 



MAN'S WEAKNESS. 45 

One, that thou wilt inspire us with a heavenly vir- 
tue. Lift before us the picture of what we should 
be and what we should do, and maintain it in the 
light, that we may not rub it out in f orgetfulness ; 
that we may be able to keep before ourselves our 
high calling in Christ Jesus. And may we press for- 
ward, not as they that have attained or apprehended ; 
may we press toward the mark, for the prize of our 
high calling in Christ Jesus, with new alacrity, with 
growing confidence, and with more and more bless- 
edness of joy and peace in the soul. 

Vouchsafe, we pray thee, to all in thy presence, 
divine illumination and quickening. Grant that 
those who are remiss, that those who are slumber- 
ing, that those who slide back easily from their own 
vows and purposes, may be upheld by thy free 
Spirit. May they be touched in heart and in con- 
science, and raised to new spiritual life. 

Sustain thou, Lord, all those who are seeking 
to maintain their fidelity to thee and thy cause un- 
der trouble and difficulty. May they be accepted 
of thee. May they not be vanquished by the pow- 
ers of the world, but upheld by thy saving Spirit. 

We pray for all those who have no knowledge of 
Christ Jesus, and no personal life in him, that they 
may be brought to know the Saviour; that they 
may discern his beauty; that they may believe in 



46 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

his power; that they may trust in his grace. May 
Christ be formed in their souls more and more. 

Wilt thou plentifully endow with divine grace 
thy servants in the ministry who endeavor to lead 
men to the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls. 
Bless all our schools and Bible classes. Bless all 
those who go forth from this church to minister to 
the poor, the neglected, and the needy. May the 
influence which goes forth from this sanctuary 
be as a light in a dark place to comfort and rebuke 
and save. May thy cause have free course among 
us, to run and be glorified. And we pray for all 
those who seek the amelioration of manners; all 
who uphold thy law ; all who study the welfare of 
the times. Wilt thou hold in the hollow of thine 
hand the hearts of our rulers, and lead them in 
right ways; and, we beseech of thee, watch over 
this great people. May thy blessing rest evermore 
upon this land, and upon all the nations of the 
earth. 

And to Thy name shall be the praise, Father, 
Son, and Spirit. Amen. 



Our Father, be pleased to follow with thy blessing the 
word of truth spoken. Make it powerful upon the un- 



MAN' 8 WEAKNESS. 47 

derstanding, upon the heart, and upon the conscience. 
Forgive those that are out of the way, and bring them 
back to the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls. Forgive 
those that do not forgive us. If we have made any our 
enemies by our own misconduct, give us repentance 
therefor. If any hate us without cause, give them re- 
pentance and us love. May we bear about with us the 
spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ so effectually that the 
light of his attributes shall be manifest in us — the same 
patience, the same affection, the same fidelity, the same 
love, the same purity. Guide thy people through the 
wilderness. Fulfill thy promises to them. May they 
walk in green pastures and by the side of still waters. 
And we beseech of thee that when thou hast served thy- 
self with us in this mortal life, thou wilt be pleased, 
through infinite mercy, to take us to thyself, where sin 
shall be but a sad memory, and where holiness shall be 
our joy for evermore. 



48 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 



We send our voices and our thanksgiving forth to 
thee, not as to one afar off, to whom our songs become 
faint from the distance ; for thou art a God near unto 
every one of us. And not alone dost thou hear that 
which we speak : that which we think sounds in thine 
ear ; and that which we feel and that which lies fallow 
both of thought and feeling are perfectly well known 
unto thee. Accept not only our thought and feeling, 
but all those unmeasured elements from which spring 
both thought and feeling. And grant to us, to-day, 
that divine pressure, that moulding power, by which all 
our inward life is shaped which issues forth in conduct. 
Consecrate us, and make us sons of God, so that our 
innermost and spontaneous outcry toward thee shall be, 
evermore, Father. Bless us in reading, in singing, in 
speaking, in every service of song, at our homes, in our 
thoughts, in our labor, in all the schools where we may 
be placed, and make it a day of heaven to us. 



dftltal <fttmrafle. 

Twin Mountain House. 
Lord our God, thy greatness is unsearchable, 
and the glory of thy presence has overwhelmed us. 
Thou art hidden in excess of light; and if we were 



FILIAL COUBAGE. 49 

to behold thee in the great sphere in which thou art 
living, none of us would dare to draw near to thee. 
Our imperfections, our transgressions, our secret 
thoughts, our wild impulses, that at times come 
surging in upon us, are such that we should be 
ashamed to stand before the All-searching Eye. Our 
lives are before thee, open as a book, and thou read- 
est every word and every letter thereof. Blessed be 
thy name, thou hast taught us to come to thee 
through the Lord Jesus Christ as through a friend, 
and thou hast taught us to draw near to thee in 
person through the familiar way of Fatherhood; 
from our childhood we have said, Our Father, 
and in this way we are not afraid; in this way we 
come familiarly and boldly: not irreverently, but 
with the familiarity which love gives. Thou hast 
poured the light of thy love upon the path which 
we tread, and thou hast taught us to come rejoic- 
ing before thee, and to make confession of our 
sins, that they may be pardoned, and to draw near 
to thee, feeling that what is deficient in us is made 
up by the abundant generosity of thy nature. And 
so, this morning, united by common infirmities, 
with common transgressions, with wavering hope, 
with tremulous fear, with bereavements, with sor- 
rows, with courage and with rejoicing, united in 
all ways one with another, we desire to come be- 



50 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

fore thee, and to receive a common blessing. Open 
thy hand and thy heart, and say to every one of 
us, Peace be unto you ! 

Accept our thanksgiving for multiplied mercies. 
Accept our thanksgiving for so much of illumina- 
tion as we have had. Thou hast dealt with us, we 
know. We know that something in us yearns for 
thee. The flowers break forth, they know not 
why; but we know it is because the sun shines on 
them. And we know that whatever leads upward 
in us must be from the shining of the Sun of right- 
eousness. Thou art present, and we are conscious 
of it. We cannot comprehend the glory and the 
grandeur of thy power; but our hearts reach up 
towards purity, towards truth, towards strength 
and goodness. We long for virtue. We long for 
cleansing and purified powers of thought and emo- 
tion. We long for more harmony in ourselves and 
in each other. We long for knowledge of that 
great realm around about us and above us where 
no earthly foot hath trod, in thy spiritual king- 
dom. 

We beseech of thee, Lord our God, that thou 
wilt grant to every one of us in thy presence, this 
morning, the special mercies which he needs — 
strength where weakness prevails, and patience 
where courage has failed. Grant, we pray thee, 



FILIAL GOUBAGE. 51 

that those who need long-suffering may find them- 
selves strangely npborne and sustained. Grant 
that those who wander in doubt and darkness may 
feel distilling upon their soul the sweet influence 
of faith. Grant that those who are heart-weary, 
and sick from hope deferred, may find the God of 
all salvation. Confirm goodness in those that are 
seeking it. Bestore, we pray thee, those who have 
wandered from the path of rectitude. Give every 
one honesty. May all transgressors of thy law 
return to the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls 
with confession of sin, and earnest and sincere 
repentance. 

We pray that thy blessing may go forth, not 
only upon those who are now waiting in thy pres- 
ence, but upon all whom our thoughts follow. 
Wherever we love, love thou ; and where we would 
bless, bless thou. Grant, we pray thee, that all 
those whom we have left behind, that all our dear 
friends scattered abroad through the wide world, 
may be united to-day, and may meet us at the feet 
of our blessed Saviour. 

We pray that this family, gathered together 
casually, by the wayside, may abide in that spirit 
and in that rejoicing which come from the love of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray for every one, 
and for thy kingdom in the heart of every one; 



52 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

and for the glory of thy holy name as it is mani- 
fested in thy children. 

We pray for this whole region around about; 
for the household that belongs here, and that 
ministers to us in worldly things. We pray for 
the sick, for the poor, for the ignorant, for the 
needy, and for the whole world, that the day of 
clashing arms may cease, that the thunder of bat- 
tle may be heard no more, that the blessing of 
righteousness may descend and fall upon the earth, 
and that there may spring up and come forth 
abundantly the fruits of righteousness. 

Lord, may the time speedily come when all 
the earth shall know thy salvation, and when thou 
shalt reign in the power of love from the rising of 
the sun until the going down of the same. 



Our Father, may the message of truth be blessed to 
the enlightenment and the comfort of every one. May 
we learn to respect thy laws, especially the inward laws 
of God, which belong to us — to our inward life. May 
we learn what they are, pondering the things in nature, 
and the things in thy "Word. We pray that we may be 
inspired to more and more care of ourselves. We are 



FILIAL COURAGE. 53 

royal. We are sons of God. May we remember that 
soon we go home from our school ; and may we be eager 
to appear with honor before our Father, that waits for us. 
But grant that we may not, while seeking to make our- 
selves great and strong and wise and good, forget to be 
gracious, nor fall into selfishness. Deliver us, on the 
one and on the other hand, and finally perfect us and 
bring us home. 



54 A BOOK OF PMAYEB. 



Inbocatum, 

Behold us, our Father, as we behold our little chil- 
dren, only with that infinite love and compassion which 
make thee God. We adore thee, and wonder at thy 
power and at thy wisdom. Grant, this morning, that 
there may be rejoicing in our hearts at thy love and 
sympathy. Draw near, and make known thyself to each 
one. Come to the sorrowing, to the burdened, to the 
dark of mind, to the doubting, to all. And may the 
services of the day fill us with the inspiration of God, 
and prepare us for all the duties of life. 



parental Iftespowsfttlttg,* 

We thank thee, our Father, for the blessed scenes 
of this morning. We thank thee for the presence 
of these little ones among thy servants. We thank 
thee that thou art opening our hearts in sympathy 
and love toward them. And we pray for them, to- 
gether, all of us, that they may be brought up in 
the nurture and admonition of the Lord, that the 
sweetness of virtue may be theirs, that they may 
early come to piety, and that they may be able to 

* Immediately following the baptism of children. 



PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY. 55 

endure the trials and temptations that lie before 
them, and prove themselves in manhood worthy to 
be called sons of God. 

We beseech of thee that thy Spirit may rest upon 
those who are to guide these children, and endue 
them with wisdom plentifully. May they be to 
their children examples of that which they teach. 
So may they bear their sins, their weaknesses and 
their sicknesses as thou didst bear our sorrow and 
wert afflicted with our trouble. We pray that as 
they stand between these young souls and God 
there may be no misinterpretation of the divine 
Spirit. May they appear in all gentleness, in all 
patience, in all forbearance, in all long-suffering, 
in all purity of thought, of feeling, and of every 
deed. In all self-denial and burden-bearing may 
they interpret to their children, through their own 
lives, the divine nature. 

Grant that these children may grow up. And 
yet, if thou shalt call them home before the sum- 
mer is over, before they have reached the harvest- 
field of life, prepare thy servants, that, in the 
opening of the heavenly gate to receive these little 
ones, their faith may discern there their portion 
and their treasure, as they shall weep for their 
children. 

Bless all the children of this congregation, be- 



56 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

longing to our several families, and belonging to 
the several schools, beloved, wherein we are gather- 
ing the homeless and the parentless, or those who 
are to be taught. Will the Lord have them in his 
holy care and keeping, and be gracious unto them, 
that on them may come the dew of heaven, and 
that they may blossom as in the garden of the 
Lord, and bring forth the fruit of righteousness. 

We thank thee for the bounty of this day. We 
rejoice that the church has thus blossomed within 
as the world has blossomed without and filled all 
the fields with flowers. We thank thee for all the 
joy and hope and inspiration of this blessed morn- 
ing. 

And now we pray that thou wilt help us to 
strengthen one another's bonds by a holy sympathy 
and helpfulness. Help all that are young and are 
in our midst to grow up in manliness, in truth, in 
integrity, and in piety. Grant, we beseech of thee, 
that all the members of our households may dwell 
in the light of thy countenance. Even in sorrow 
let there be songs in the night for them. We pray 
that thou wilt establish thy covenant with every 
one of us, and do exceeding abundantly more for 
us than we ask or think, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. 

Accept our thanks for the mercy of the year. 



PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY. 57 

We thank thee for the renewing tokens, month by 
month, of thy presence, of the vitality of the truth, 
and of the persuasions that are bringing men to a 
better life and restoring those that have wandered. 
And we pray that still, as the months go on, thy 
work in this congregation may continue, and 
abound, and bring forth more and more fruit to 
the glory of Gk>d. 

We pray for thy blessing to rest, to-day, upon 
all thy churches in this city, and in the great city 
near us. We pray for all thy servants who minis- 
ter in them, that they may be able to preach the 
Word with simplicity, with truth, and with power 
sent down from on high. We thank thee that 
differences are being laid aside, and that thy peo- 
ple work together better and more cordially than 
aforetime. We pray that divisions may be taken 
away, that walls of separation may be lowered, and 
that those things which tend toward inharmony 
may be abolished. May love everywhere prevail 
between thy people. May there be such sweet 
unity among them that men shall say, not, " How 
Christians hate one another ! " but, " How they 
love one another ! " 

We pray that the power of truth may more 
and more ameliorate the condition of the people 
on this great continent. Raise up the weak, the 



58 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

ignorant and those that are trodden down as the 
mire in the street. We pray for all, everywhere, 
who are included under our government, that the 
light of civilization may come to them, if they be 
barbarous, and that they may be advanced in 
morality and knowledge wherever they may be. 
Rear up those who shall teach and those who shall 
preach the gospel, everywhere, that thy kingdom 
may come in all this great land. 

Nor do we pray for ourselves alone : we pray for 
all the nations of the earth — especially for those 
that are more intimately connected with us on our 
great northern border, and those that are across the 
deep, from whom we sprang. 0, God of nations, 
may we be knitted together more and more firmly 
for the cause of civilization, of Christian truth, 
and of universal elevation. We beseech of thee 
that thou wilt spread the light with growing clear- 
ness upon all the nations. 

Lord, when shall the wolf go back to his den, 
and the lion cease to ravage ? When shall the 
white banner of peace float over all the earth ? 
How black and how red are now the flags of war ! 
We pray that the tramp of the soldiers may cease, 
that the thunder of the cannon may be heard no 
more, that nations may no more learn war, that in 
knowledge there may be the destruction of super- 



PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY. 59 

stition and despotism, that injustice may no longer 
excite men's passions, and that justice, and truth, 
and fidelity, and love may unite men, that the 
strength of the race may be expended not in going 
back to animalism, but in going forward and up- 
ward to morality and spirituality, until the prophe- 
cies shall be fulfilled and the earth shall see thy 
salvation. 



(fttemg Stager* 

Give to us the fight, unblemished, that shines from the 
heavenly sphere, our Father. Deliver us all from the 
temptations of mutual admirations, self-admirations, 
disguises, and self-deceit. Bring us, we beseech of 
thee, where thy servant of old was, who lived as seeing 
Him who is invisible. Give to our faith such a perpetual 
sense of the truth of the invisible that we may become 
evermore like Him. Bless those that are striving to-day, 
low down, and under all discouragements. Quicken 
their courage. Let them not fail. Give them, we be- 
seech thee, by the Holy Ghost, power to overcome their 
quick and fiery adversaries, and to cast them down to 
the ground ; and make them feel that it is indeed heroic 
to slay Satan in every movement that he makes upon 
them. And may they work not discouraged, because of 
to-day, nor afraid of to-morrow. From day to day may 
they unweariedly take hold of the promise of God, and 



60 A BOOK OF PBAYEB. 

realize his presence, and behold the joy of purity in the 
immaculate Man ; and there may the vision abide, as a 
vision of angel faces, to comfort and cheer them in de- 
spondency, and to carry them on from height to height 
till their feet shall stand in Zion and before God. 

Help the patient to be more patient. Help the strug- 
gling more perfectly to overcome, and to reap victory 
out of struggle. Help us all, Lord, for our days are few, 
and what we do we must do quickly. Help us by thine 
own immortal love. Set to us the example of what is 
heroic, that we may be followers of Christ indeed. 



A SABBATH BAY. 61 



Invocation. 

Thou high and holy One, thou who art lifted above 
all compare, though men are but as grasshoppers in thy 
sight, greatness with thee doth not lift thee above the 
poor and needy. Thou that dost deal mercifully with 
those who are of a humble and contrite spirit and of a 
broken heart, look down with infinite compassion upon 
us, who confess our sins and our unworthiness, and im- 
plore forgiveness in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Grant unto us the ministering power of thy Spirit, to- 
day. Let thy soul touch ours. Let thy life brood our 
drooping life, and bring forth out of our souls the bright 
resurrection morning in which all sweet thoughts and 
all heartfelt faith and love rise up to greet and to re- 
joice in thee. And may the services of the sanctuary, 
our meditation therein, the joy of home and the labors 
of love, this day, be sanctified and accepted by thee. 



fSL Safifcatf) Bag, 

Sunday Morning, June 1, 1873. 

We thank thee, our Father, for this blessed day 

of rest. We pray that it may bring repose to all 

that are in trouble; to all that are sick; to all that 

are weary from watching hopelessly with the sick; 




62 A BOOK OF PBATEB. 

to all that are in great distress of mind; to all that 
are pestered; to all that are hindered. We pray 
that it may be a day of emancipation to all thy 
children who are held captive by ignoble care, or 
by any bondage or strife. Grant that this may be 
a day in which the heavens shall come down in 
brightness upon all the souls which thou hast 
made, as upon the outward world. May the truths 
of thy Word, the majesty of love in God, the 
power and redemption and sympathy in the heart 
of Christ, the enlightening and searching and re- 
viving influence of the Holy Spirit, come to thy 
servants. May they not hold the truth in its let- 
ter, in its outwardness, and in the shackle of 
human thought and feeling and expression: may 
there be brought to them, by the Holy Ghost, to- 
day, revelations of the truth in its ineffable form; 
as it is outside of us; as it is in the sight of God. 
Grant that we may behold the reality of time. 
May we behold its uses, and yet realize how little 
it avails as a rest or as a treasure. Grant that we 
may behold the glory of the invisible. May it be 
brought near — the incorruptible spirit; the un- 
changeable future; the great rejoicing-ground of 
the universe, whither, when men have blossomed, 
thou dost pluck them, and bear them up, and give 
them, where there is no winter, a place in which 



A SABBATH BAT. 63 

to grow again. Grant that we may all have a sense 
of the reality of God present with us to-day. May 
this be a Sunday full of God; and so, full of glad- 
ness, and hopefulness, and thanksgiving, and re- 
joicing one with another. We beseech of thee, 
to-day, that tears may cease, that cares may 
have their furrows smoothed out, and that every 
one may take his place as a child of God, and look 
up into the face of his Father, not to plead, but 
with smiles and humble boldness to demand that 
which love has agreed to give. 

Wilt thou help every one, and make it easy for 
him to confess the wrong that is in him, and to 
loose the band that has hindered him and held 
him down, and rise with sweet approach to a con- 
sciousness and a realization of the love of God in 
Christ Jesus. Grant a knowledge of the infinite 
treasure that is in that love to every pilgrim soul 
upon earth. Thou art dealing with thy people. 
Thou art chastising many of them. Thou art call- 
ing them to walk in dark ways. Thou art putting 
the cup of bitterness to the lips of many. Thou 
art exercising them and training them for the 
better ground that is beyond. We pray that they 
may not be forsaken in the dark way. We pray 
that their night may not be starless. We pray 
that they may not cry out when they are drawing 



64 A BOOK OF PEA TEB. 

near to thee on the stormy sea as if they had seen 
a spirit: may they know in every deed that all 
their experiences are brought upon them by the 
hand of love ; may they be strengthened to drink 
the cup; and, if it may not pass by them, may 
they have the angels of God ministering to them, 
and be led to lay all their cares and burdens of 
sorrow at the feet of the Saviour. 

We pray for all those who know not what to do; 
for all those who desire to do their duty, but are 
perplexed by the opening of various ways. We 
beseech of thee that they may not lie supine, wait- 
ing for God to tell them. May they hear the voice 
of God demanding that they shall use their own 
reason to find out what their duty is; and then 
may they do the best they can and wait for that 
better light which shall come from following the 
light which they already have. And may those 
who are burdened and weighed down with care not 
be looking to see wherewithal they shall be re- 
lieved : may their cry still be for strength to bear 
their burdens and endure their cross. May those 
who are in the conflict of life not desire to retreat 
or to fall out by the way; but having done all, 
may they stand. 

We ask that the Spirit of the mighty God may 
be in the hearts of his people, in their several 



A SABBATH DAT. b0 

relations to each other — in the household, in busi- 
ness, in the affairs of State, and in their connec- 
tion with time and eternity. Grant that they 
may, every one, feel this morning the brooding 
influence of divine love in the certainty that all 
things shall work together for good to them that 
love God. May there be a childlike nature spring- 
ing up in every heart, and reaching by thoughts 
and desires and hopes toward the spirit-land — 
toward the crown of immortal life. 

We beseech of thee, Lord our God, that thy 
Word to-day may fly speedily throughout this land. 
By thousands of preachers may the Word of God, 
and the love of Christ, and the hope of the world, 
be made known. May sluggish ears be aroused, 
and dead hearts revived, and multitudes brought 
out of darkness and into light. We pray for thy 
cause universal; for the diffusion of intelligence; 
for the emendation of law; for the establishment 
of righteous custom; for the spirit of integrity 
and purity, among this great people. 

We pray for the nations that are enthralled. 
May their bonds be broken. May superstition be 
chased away by the knowledge of a better religion 
in Christ Jesus. May the weakness of men, which 
has made them the prey of the oppressor, disap- 



66 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

pear. May men be strengthened until oppression 
shall not be able to hold them down. 

We pray for the fulfillment of those blessed pre- 
dictions which promise the enlightenment of the 
whole world and the emancipation of the entire 
race. Even so, Lord Jesus, we wait upon thy word 
and upon thy promises. We are willing to wait, 
if need be, and to labor, sowing with tears, even, if 
by and by we may come to thee with our bosom 
filled with sheaves. And grant that we may come 
with abundant fruit as the result of faithful toil 
all our life long. 

We pray that thou wilt bless those to-day that 
attempt to fulfill the duties which thou thyself 
didst fulfill upon earth, by going about doing 
good. May all who comfort the sorrowing be com- 
forted themselves of God. May all that bear the 
torch of light be themselves enlightened. May all 
that lift up the lowly and encourage the despairing 
be themselves mightily blessed of God. 

We leave ourselves in thy keeping. Do that with 
us which seems good to thee. Whether we live a 
longer or a shorter period, whether we are in one 
or another condition or place, grant that we may 
have evermore the presence of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, his grace, his love, his strength, his con- 
scious sympathy, so that we shall be mighty to the 



A SABBATH DAY. 67 

pulling down of strongholds of sin. And at last 
bring us to that rest which remaineth for the peo- 
ple of God. 



anosmg Stager. 

Thou that givest the light, and quickenest all things 
by its stimulus, give the light and power of the Holy 
Ghost to the truth that has been uttered. May we bear 
it in thoughtful hearts, and with earnest purposes, into 
the fulfillment of daily life. Pardon all our sins. Save 
us from ourselves and from all other enemies. Deliver 
us in the hour of death, and bring us with a more glori- 
ous consummation into the eternity of blessedness in 
Thine upper kingdom, through riches of grace, in Christ 
Jesus. 



68 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 



Inbocatum. 

Lift upon us, our Father, the light of thy countenance. 
May that light come unobscured by winter, by storm or 
by trouble. Breathe forth upon us that peace of which 
thou art the Source and the sole Possessor. AVe are cast 
about upon these lower shores by every wind of care. 
Grant that we may know thy presence by its soothing 
influence, by the gentle incitement of our souls, by the 
warmth of love and by the holy thoughts inspired of 
thee. And may our services of instruction, of devotion, 
of fellowship and of rejoicing be acceptable in thy sight. 



dfox Spiritual mizmnrntnt 

Sunday Morning, Dec. 16, 1877. 
Delivek us, our Father, from all those mists 
which do arise from the low places where we dwell, 
which rise up and hide the sun, and the stars even, 
and thee. Deliver us from the narrowness and the 
poverty of our conceptions. Deliver us from the 
despotism of our senses. And grant unto us, this 
morning, the effusion of thy Spirit, which shall 
bring us into the realm of spiritual things, so that 
we may, by the use of all that which is divine in us, 
rise into the sphere of thy thought, into the realm 



FOR SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT. 69 

where thou dwellest, and whither have trooped 
from the ages the spirits of just men now made 
perfect. Grant, we pray thee, that we may not 
look with time-eyes upon eternal things, measuring 
and dwarfing with our imperfectness the fitness 
and beauty of things heavenly. So teach us to 
come into thy presence and to rise by sympathy 
into thy way of thinking and feeling, that so much 
as we can discern of the invisible may come to us 
aright. deliver us, we beseech of thee, from 
those ways and estimates which grow out of life, 
from that importance which is transient, and from 
that carelessness of eternal things which we do so 
bear about with us, undervaluing the great over- 
realm, and being excessively addicted to that 
which is beneath our feet. We bend under heavy 
loads for the sake of gaining the things that are 
transient, thus periling the things which are eter- 
nal. We are earnest and laborious in our efforts to 
obtain the treasures of this world, while we are, 
perchance, indifferent to the eternal treasure. 

Lord, quicken us. May we lift our hands to 
our head for the crown that is ours. May our 
hand hold the scepter in which is all authority 
and power; and may we be able therewith to wave 
away or beat down the impertinences and false- 
nesses of this world. Remove all things that come 



70 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

between us and the clear-seeing of the will of our 
God, and of the estate of the ransomed, and the 
royal company that are more ours since they went 
from us than while they were with us. Then we 
spoke to each other as through prison walls, en- 
ccompassed in the flesh, bearing about a common 
blindness and inaptness ; but they have gone forth 
to find themselves in the largeness of the spirit 
world. With them, now, love flames as the sun of 
the tropics; joy rolls in everlasting measures 
with them; and they embrace with their souls the 
whole wide world, and all that is in it. Their 
thoughts follow Christ's, and they wing their way 
every whither, and rejoice — especially with them 
with whom they learned to weep, and with whom 
they bore burdens. 

bring down the brooding heaven to us, if we 
cannot rise into it, this day, that all those who seem 
to themselves to have been losers may behold what 
they have gained. None can lose except those 
who are of the earth, earthy. Whatever we cast 
downward is gone, and death owns it; but the 
things which we cast upward, and for which men 
mourn, we invest aright ; because death cannot 
reach to take the things which we have committed 
to thy trust. 

We rejoice in that heaven where our little chil- 



FOR SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT. 71 

dren are. We rejoice in that region where our 
much-stormed friends have gone. We rejoice in 
that land where the wicked cease from troubling 
and the weary are at rest. May we not have solici- 
tude, may we not have solemnity, may we not have 
the fear and trembling of those that doubt; but 0, 
this day, more than misers rejoice in counting 
their gold may we rejoice in counting the treas- 
ures that are laid up for us where moth and rust 
do not corrupt, and where thieves do not break 
through and steal. And whatever change and loss 
may betide our earthly possessions, may we walk 
in high and heavenly thought, not far from Him 
who redeemed us by his love, and through whom 
we have learned to magnify God. 

Grant thy blessing to rest on all who are gath- 
ered together in thy presence this morning. May 
there seem to them to be a heavenly atmosphere in 
this place; and may they have freedom to open 
their hearts to the inshining of God's heart. As 
to-day nothing will grow under the sharp and bit- 
ing influence of winter, but all things will open 
when the sun comes again from the south, with its 
warmth and blessed breath, so grant, we pray thee, 
that those hearts which have been congealed by 
care, by trouble, by fear, by the misconstruction of 
thy nature, of thy government and of thy purposes, 



72 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

may open their souls to the sweet influence of the 
mild and blessed love which streams from the face 
of joy. May they confess their sins to themselves, 
and to Him who alone loves enough to forgive; 
and grant that they may have rest in Christ to-day, 
not because they have done so much or meant so 
much, but because they find his mercies enwrap- 
ping them. May their strength and their gladness 
rest in what He is and not in what they are. 

Grant, we pray thee, that all those who are in 
sorrow, all those who are bereaved, all those who 
are sick, all those who are in any trouble, and need 
comfort, may, to-day, have the consolation of the 
Comforter. We pray for those who are taxed be- 
yond their strength and who long to lay down 
their burden. May they put on the whole armor 
of God, and having done all, may they be steadfast, 
and patiently endure unto the end. 

May thy blessing rest upon the households of 
this congregation. Bless thy servants that are 
parents. Fill them with all Christ-likeness, and 
make their way before their children a perpetual 
gospel. May they learn of their children, and may 
their children learn of them. Bless the labor of 
thy servants who are at work in our schools and 
missions. Bless all the officers, all the teachers, 
and all that are taught. May thy servants not 



FOR SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT. 73 

teach as if they felt that they were conferring a 
favor upon thee. The lowest place is too much 
honor for any one of us when we think who thou 
art, Christ, in the glory of thy Father's kingdom. 
If we might but touch the hem of thy robes, and 
bear up thy train in the least, it would be an honor 
all too great. May there be an ever present hu- 
mility among those who go forth to teach. May 
they deport themselves, not as though they were 
bestowing a benefaction upon inferiors. May a 
spirit of love and brotherhood go with them. And 
may they show such true manliness, such real mag- 
nanimity, such greatness of patience, such long- 
continued willingness to work unrequited, to be 
subordinate one to another, and to submit them- 
selves to each other, that their scholars shall be- 
hold in them the meaning of that gospel which is 
of the heart, and not of the book. 

Bless thou all who are present with us from 
abroad. Though they are strangers among stran- 
gers, may they yet find that they are in the house- 
hold of faith, and at home. Grant that their 
prayers, commingling with ours, may go forth in 
answers to those that they have left behind. Pre- 
serve their families. Protect thy servants from 
evil in their wanderings, guard them, and in due 
time guide them again to their own. 



74 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

Bless, we pray thee, this whole land, in all its in- 
terests. May a spirit of dispassionate wisdom in 
its rulers work truth and reason and success for the 
welfare of this great people. We pray for this na- 
tion, divided in many nationalities and conditions. 
Grant, we fervently beseech of thee, that we may 
cast away the distinctions that have tormented this 
country, and that we may believe that in Christ 
Jesus there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither bond 
nor free, neither man nor woman, but that all are 
before thee alike. And in our hearts, in the great- 
ness of our sympathy, and in the performance of 
all our duties, may we be able to rise to the spirit 
of Christ Jesus. We pray that thou wilt hasten 
the day when there shall be no ignorance, no domi- 
neering by the passions, no rude violence through 
selfishness, no craft nor deceit, no hatred. Grant 
that there may be union, not only external but in- 
ternal, in this great nation, and that the memory 
of the past may be sanctified in the deeds of the 
future. 

Yea, may all the nations of the earth rise in 
civilization, so that all oppressive governments, 
all corrupt practices, all superstitions, and every- 
thing that torments and vexes and destroys men, 
may be taken out of the way, and that those peo- 
ples that are yet in darkness may hear the trumpet 



FOR SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT. 75 

call of God, and come trooping to his banner, and 
join the march of civilization and religion. 

Lord, we pray thee, hasten the consummation 
of thy purposes. Call forth from their hiding- 
places the children of the night. Bring to com- 
pletion those counsels that have so long stood as 
prophecies. Make haste ; for all the earth is wait- 
ing for thee, and generations sigh and yearn, and 
die without the sight. Come, thou Desire of na- 
tions, and make manifest in the fulfillment of thy 
promises the glory of God in the welfare of men. 



Closing ^rager, 

God grant that we may live in the faith of thai) which 
now we see not, in the hope of that which we desire. O 
Lord, help us to populate the future with all the glories 
of things longed for but not seen. Grant, we pray thee, 
to every one of us, in the instruction of the day, a wiser 
thought of our own way of life and our own way of 
duty. May we be helped, and taught how to help and 
not to hinder others. Purify this church. Make it 
strong in faith and wisdom and love. Purify all thy 
churches. Reveal thyself more and more to them. 
Teach them not to close their eyes when God is reveal- 
ing the truth all the world around. May they rejoice, 
expecting evermore the second coming of Christ. Little 
by little rejoicing, may they live in the faith that He 
may yet possess the world. 



76 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 



inbocaticm. 

Dear Father, open our hearts that we may feel thy 
presence. We need no help to seek the light and warmth 
of the sun, so much more vital is the body than our 
soul ; but thou Sun of righteousness, when thou comest 
we need thy help that we may know thee and feel thy 
power. Of all the gifts which thou hast for us none are 
like the gift of thine own self. And we pray, this morn- 
ing, that we may know thy presence, not by any out- 
ward sign or symbol, but by the awaking in us of all 
that is affectionate and yearning of the higher and 
holier aspirations, that we may feel that leaning of soul 
which implies thee upon whom we may rest ourselves. 
And may all our service, to-day, begin and end in thee, 
that we may be surrounded by thee. Be thou all in all, 
and glorify thyself in the wonder of love, mercy, and 
gentleness in the midst of thy people. 



(Eomfcrt in 3|rager, 

Sunday Morning, Jan. 20, 1878. 
Thou, G-od, hast exalted us so that no longer 
we walk with prone head among the animals that 
perish. Thou hast ordained us as thine own chil- 
dren, and hast planted within us that spiritual life 



COMFORT IN PRAYER. 77 

which ever seeks, as the flame, to rise upward and 
mingle with thee. Every exaltation, every pure 
sentiment, all urgency of true affection, and all 
yearning after things higher and nobler, are testi- 
monies of the divinity that is in us. These are the 
threads by which thou art drawing us away from 
sense, away from the earth, away from things 
coarse and unspiritual, and toward the ineffable. 
We rejoice that we have in us the witness of the 
Spirit, the indwelling of God. For, although we 
are temples defiled, though we are unworthy of 
such a Guest, and though we perpetually grieve 
thee, and drive thee from us, so that thou canst 
not do the mighty work that thou wouldst within 
us, yet we rejoice to believe that thou dost linger 
near us. Even upon the outside, thou standest 
knocking at the door until thy locks are wet with 
the night dews, and dost persuade us with the 
everlasting importunity of love, and draw us 
upward, whether with or without our own knowl- 
edge. Thou art evermore striving to imbue us 
with thyself, and to give us that divine nature 
which shall triumph over time and sense and mat- 
ter; and we pray that we may have an enlightened 
understanding of this thy work in us and upon us, 
and work together with thee. 

We thank thee for the glimpses that we have 



78 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

had aforetime. We thank thee that there have 
been to us mountains of transfiguration. We 
thank thee that the heavens have opened to us, 
and that we have heard thy voice, that we have 
felt the descending Spirit, that it has rested upon 
us, and that the fire hath burned in our thought 
and in our soul. We thank thee, also, that thou 
hast given us the eye of the prophet, that the 
future is open, that we have pierced the darkness 
of the grave at times, that we have beheld the 
further shore across the Jordan, and that we have 
penetrated the realm beyond, — yea, and entered 
in, with blessed communion, to the rest which is 
found among the saints in glory. We thank thee 
that faith in us has prevision, and that we discern 
things which are to come, if not in their exact 
substance and figure, yet in such a way as brings 
comfort and refreshment to us while we are wait- 
ing; while we are pilgrims in the desert; while we 
are in tabernacles, and seek mansions and cities 
that are builded. We thank thee that we are 
cared for aforetime by thee, that thou dost succor 
and sustain us along the way. 

And now we beseech of thee, Lord, that the 
memory of the past may comfort us in all the 
future, when sorrows like swollen rivers, and like 
storms on the mountains, seem likely to sweep us 



COMFORT IJST PRAYER 79 

away. May we remember the deliverances of old, 
and abide in faith. When the flame threatens to 
consume us, may we call to mind the times gone 
by when thou didst stand by us in the fire, and 
protect us. When the fear of death draws near, 
may we recollect thy words, that because thou hast 
overcome we shall overcome also. When it seems 
as though all our earthly hopes were blasted, may 
we acquit ourselves like men, and stand up in the 
midst ot trial and trouble, and bearing patiently 
the will of the Lord that is laid upon us, endure 
unto the end. For, what can happen amiss to 
those who are God's own children ? What if the 
earth does melt beneath our feet ! What if the 
comforts of outward life are taken from us ! If 
thou art near us, and if the enduring riches that 
are forevermore at thy right hand are our inherit- 
ance, why should we be distressed and in pain ? 
What if we seem solitary, deserted, abandoned! Is 
not ours the company of the general assembly and 
the church of the first-born ; and can we be alone 
who are surrounded with clouds of witnesses, call- 
ing out to us in hope and in love ? 

Grant, we pray thee, that in the ministry of 
things spiritual and invisible we may find more 
than an equivalent for the trouble, the trial, of 
this visible world. It perishes, and the invisible 



80 A BOOK OF PRAYEB. 

endures forever. Here we groan, being burdened; 
but in the realm above sorrow and sighing shall 
flee away. There shall be no more tears there. 
The former things will have passed away. Since 
we are heritors of that blessed kingdom, walking 
crownless, and yet crowned the sons of G-od, and 
although we are obscure and unknown, grant that 
we may prove ourselves worthy of the high voca- 
tion with which we are called in Christ Jesus. 0, 
thou that didst shed tears, thou that wert stained 
with blood, thou that wert crowned with thorns, 
thou of the pierced hand and side, interpret to us 
more perfectly the grandeur of that love which 
works within thy Father and our Father. May 
we understand the suffering God that for us bears 
care and burden and trouble. May we rejoice in 
the universality of thine overruling and succoring 
providence, and of the gospel that works within it. 
And so we pray that we may be stable unto the 
very end. 

Bless, we pray thee, all that are in thy presence, 
and each as he needs, with patience, with strength, 
with humility, with gentleness, with generosity, 
and with disinterested love and service. Minister 
to those who are in the twilight. Bring the day- 
star to watchers in the night. May those who are 
in anguish, and whose hearts quiver, feel thy heart, 



COMFORT IN PRAYEB. 81 

and take medicine from it. Do to every one such 
things as shall enable him every day, with the 
enthusiasm of love, to say, Our Father. And may 
thy name be as a talisman, and guard us and guide 
us and bless us. 

And we pray not only for ourselves, but for all — 
for those that are not permitted to be with us to- 
day; for those that are sick at home; for those 
that are upon the sea; for those that are in 
foreign lands; for those that are in the wilder- 
ness in our own land; for those who are in our 
army and navy; for those who are laboring for 
the amelioration of the condition of the people; 
for ministers of the gospel; for those who conduct 
institutions of learning; and for editors that dif- 
fuse light and knowledge throughout the nations. 

We pray that thou wilt bless the President of 
these United States and those that are joined with 
him in authority. Bless the Congress assembled, 
all legislatures, all courts, all judges, magistrates 
of every name, and the whole citizenship of this 
broad land. Breathe thou a spirit of wisdom and 
unity and integrity upon our great people, and lead 
them forth aright. 

And we pray that thou wilt grant, not to our- 
selves alone, but to all the nations of the earth, 
peace and prosperity. Open the future; bring in 



82 A BOOK OF PBAYER. 

the promised joy; cut short the lingering and 
hesitating steps; and advance with strength those 
that bring salvation. How beautiful upon the 
mountains are the feet of those that bring good 
tidings of peace to the world ! And what world 
ever needed such tidings as this one, which yet 
groans and travails in pain! 

Now, Lord, we commend ourselves again to thy 
care, asking thy blessing, thy spiritual guidance, 
through all the scenes of this life, and through the 
last, death, and into the eternal home; and there 
we will give the praise of our salvation to the 
Father, the Son, and the Spirit, evermore. 



(ftlostttfl Stager. 

Grant unto us, we pray thee, the spirit of thy word. 
It is filled with sweet fruit, and sweet perfume. We 
thank thee, O Gocl, that thy book is full of life, and 
that the notes of sadness in it are but distant echoes; 
whereas the joy overflows, chorally and continuously. 
So make us rejoice in the Lord, that, by trust, by hope, 
by love, we may come into that atmosphere from which 
winter is expelled, and in which summer dwells forever- 
more, 




THE WONDERS OF GRACE. 83 



Inbccattcm. 

Thou divine Spirit, look forth unto our humble estate; 
and as thou wert not ashamed, once, to descend and to 
be born of a woman, and to make thyself altogether 
acquainted with human grief, so vouchsafe from thy 
great glory to descend again and again, to be incarnated 
in us, to dwell in us, and to give us thy life and thy 
love. And may we feel within us, to-day, that inspira- 
tion which shall be the token and evidence of thy pres- 
ence. May our service be acceptable, though it be poor, 
as the best that we know how to bring ; and may we, 
this day, from thy Word, gain new light, new motive, 
and new impulse, so that the service shall not be un- 
profitable to us and shall be grateful to thee. 



Cf)e TOcmtors of (Elrace. 

Accept our songs of thanksgiving* and of praise, 
thou Most High. Unworthy of thee they are; 
and yet, how shall we, at this distance, being so 
imperfect, and beholding through clouds and dark- 
ness, celebrate the full glory of thy heavenly estate ? 
What can we do but that which is done in weak- 
ness and imperfection ? Yet it is not that which 



84 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

we utter, but that which through Jesus Christ is 
brought unto thee, that thou dost hear. Thou 
dost interpret our broken language. Thou dost 
give significance to that which we say, and make it 
that which we would utter, and not that which we 
do. 

We rejoice that we have thus in the heavenly 
sphere One who stands for us — a Forerunner, a 
Mediator, a Saviour, a beloved Friend, who has 
been joined to us, who knows our every infirmity; 
who is united to thee, who is familiar with every 
perfection ; who brings us into relation with thee, 
and who gives us possession of our own selves in 
our nature, in our destiny, in our true and divine 
element. 

And so, though we praise thee with insignificant 
word, and incompetent thought, and inadequate 
conception, thou art pleased to receive us and ours, 
and dost rejoice in us and over us. This is the 
marvel of grace : how out of thy greatness thou canst 
take pleasure in littleness; how out of thy great 
purity thou canst look with compassion upon the 
impure; how out of thine ineffable perfection thou 
canst have sympathy with the imperfect — yea, dost 
love them; for it is thou that didst set the root 
agrowing, and it is thou that didst give to the sprout- 
ing seed its rudest form as well as its final blossom. 



THE WONDERS OF GRACE. 85 

All through thou art pleased with the growths and 
disclosures of things; under thy care the earth 
is evermore working upward; in each generation 
thou dost move things back to the beginnings ; and 
thou dost call forth the soul on its march from 
imperfection toward perfection. Thou hast some 
design in thine own mind, although we cannot 
pierce to understand it. Though we do not know 
what are its relationships, though we are ignorant 
of what are the plans and purposes of our God, we 
are glad to believe that thou art such an One as 
can take compassion upon our infirmities; that 
thou dost pity us because thou knowest our frame, 
and dost remember that we are dust, so that our 
very want and our very weakness bring us near to 
thee, to thine illumination, and to thy healing 
power. So thou art revealing to all thy creatures, 
above and below, that thy nature is to heal, and to 
strengthen, and to build up ; that it is thy nature 
to be patient and long-suffering; that it is thy 
nature, with firm and steady pressure, with skill 
and with fidelity, to develop us until we are per- 
fected and made ready for the sphere above. 

In the faith of this we desire, Lord our God, 
to rejoice, and to walk day by day, not dependent 
upon our own condition, but dependent upon our 
God, and made strong in the hope of his salvation. 



m A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

Grant thy blessing to abide with all the house- 
holds in this church; and may every family be 
itself a church. May there be a church in each 
house. We pray for the ministration of the Spirit 
upon the parents, and upon the children and the 
little ones. May the young grow up in purity, in 
honor, in truth, in perfect manhood in Christ 
Jesus. Bless thy servants in their relations to the 
outward world ; in their duties; in their various 
intercourse with men; in their ambitions and 
hopes of worldly good ; in their joys and sorrows ; 
in their defeats and victories. Will the Lord make 
them to be Christian men in disposition and in 
conduct. 

To such as are in trouble give release, or give 
them support. Take away their hindrance, or 
bear them up under it by thy strength. Bless, 
we beseech of thee, any that are sick. Comfort 
them, restore them, or bring them through, with 
final victory, to the home of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
If any sit in darkness, and mourn through bereave- 
ments, wilt thou come unto them, though thou 
hast delayed thy coming, and cheer and comfort 
them, as thou didst the sisters of old. 

May thy blessing rest upon those present who 
are strangers in a strange land or in a strange 
place. May they find here a home of the soul; 



THE W0NDEB8 OF OBAGE. 87 

and in communion with God and his people may 
they find rest from care and anxiety, and refresh- 
ment as of food in thy holy "Word ; may this place 
and this sanctuary be greatly blessed to their souls. 

We pray that thou wilt follow our thoughts of 
yearning love to all, everywhere, who are dear to 
us, in our own or in other lands, upon the sea or 
upon the soil. Wherever they may be, we com- 
mend them to thy fatherly care and protection. 
Shower upon them abundant blessings, we pray 
thee; and may the memories of this place which 
shall arise in a thousand hearts to-day be sanctified, 
so that this day shall be to all that are scattered 
abroad who belong to us a day of rest and rejoic- 
ing. 

Bless, we pray thee, the city in which we dwell. 
Establish thou righteousness in it. Cleanse it, 
purify it, and make it strong in the things that 
make for peace and justice and truth. Bless our 
whole land. We thank thee that the troubles 
which threatened great mischief and disaster are 
passing away; we thank thee that there was so 
little harm where there was fear of so much; and 
we pray that thou wilt give to us more and more 
assured laws, wise administration, and perfect obe- 
dience. Deliver us from the passions of evil men, 
from rancor, from envy, from hatred, from enven- 



88 A BOOK OF PBAYER. 

omed contentions; and may this great people dwell 
together in peace. 



©losing ^rager. 

Our Father, wilt thou bless thy truth as unfolded. 
May it do good. Wilt thou give help to those who need 
help ; a clearer light to those who are in darkness and 
doubt ; a fountain of life to those who are in the valley 
and shadow of death. We pray that thou wilt help men 
to break away from their evil habits, and to enter upon 
a nobler life and character. Wilt thou glorify thyself 
in that which thy people bring forth. May men go from 
grace to grace and from virtue to virtue until they be- 
come men in Jesus Christ. And may they live so that 
men around about them shall behold their light, their 
strength, their gladness and beauty, and shall glorify 
their Father which is in heaven. 



THE SYMPATHY OF GOD. 



inbocattcm. 

Because thou art good, and because thou hast called 
unto our souls, we have come to appear in Zion and be- 
fore God. Now, what wait we for ? Open thine arms 
for us. Give forth from thine heart that inspiration 
which shall make everything in us rise up and recognize 
our filial relation. With all our hearts and souls, may 
we be able to call thee our Father, and, this day, to 
rejoice somewhat in the contemplation of that realm of 
righteousness and wealth of joy which thou hast for 
thine own self and for all that are heirs through Jesus 
Christ of thy great salvation. Help us in every service. 
Make us, to-day, as joyful as thou wouldst have us to 
be. 



2Tt)e Sgmpatf)g of (goti. 

We thank thee, our Father, that it is permitted 
us, not only to think of thee, to be conscious of 
thy footsteps near us, to feel the touch of thy 
creating nature, everywhere, but to speak of thee, 
to commune with thee ; and though we do not 
discern thy face, though we do not feel the pres- 
sure of thy hand, and though thou canst not 
be a Father to us in the flesh as our fathers 
were, yet we rejoice that inwardly we may know 



90 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

thy presence, that we may feel the power of 
thy Spirit working upon our spirits, and that we 
may have that feeling of exaltation, that sensi- 
bility to things invisible, that love of things noble 
and right, which shows us to have gone out from 
under the dominion of outward elements, and to 
have come into the presence of the All-loving, of 
the All-powerful, of the All-knowing. 

We rejoice that in all time men have found a 
refuge in thee, and that prayer is the voice of 
love, the voice of fear, the voice of pleading, and 
the voice of thanksgiving. Our souls overflow 
toward thee like a cup when full ; nor can we 
forbear ; nor shall we search to see if our prayers 
have been registered, or whether of the things 
asked we have received much, or more, or any- 
thing. That we have had permission to feel in 
thy presence, to take upon ourselves something of 
the light of thy countenance, to have a conscious- 
ness that thy thoughts are upon us, to experience 
the inspiration of the Holy Ghost in any measure 
— this is an answer to prayer transcending all 
things that we can think of ; for what are all 
things in time but gifts of the Holy Ghost for the 
exaltation of our whole nature for eternity ? We 
thank thee that we have thus more than an an- 
swer to our prayers, and that thou dost exceeding 



THE SYMPATHY OF GOD. 91 

abundantly more than we can ask or think. Thou 
art acting in larger spheres than our desires ever 
compass. Thou art working out in us ends about 
which we do not ourselves know. It doth not yet 
appear to us what we shall be ; but thou dost 
discern clearly that which we see in a glass, darkly. 
The veil has not fallen, and will not fall until 
death shall take it down. 

We rejoice to believe that in the great sphere of 
thy beneficence thou art multiplying answers to 
our petitions ; yea, and art sending to us flocks, 
as it were, of message-birds, bringing both song 
and food for the famished. Thou art rejoiced to 
do for us even unrecognized things innumerable. 

And now we take hold upon thee, this morn- 
ing, by hands of faith. Lord, we stretch up to 
thee our feeble affection, knowing that it is 
pleasant to thee, and that anything which we can 
do in the spirit of love pleases thee. Unrich, we 
give to thee all that we have, knowing that any- 
thing which we can give shall be as riches to thee. 
And we have learned the secret of thy feelings, 
though we cannot understand it or take in its 
scope. Are not our little children a joy and a 
blessing to us, though we are above tnem in 
strength and in knowledge ? And so we are glad 
to think that in the mystery of love thou canst 



92 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

take from us what we have to offer, though we 
are so poor, so distant from thee, and so infinitely 
beneath thee in every attribute and power of life. 
We are glad that we can enrich thee, that we 
can glorify thee, that we can rejoice thee, that 
it does make a difference to thee what we do, and 
that thou dost enfold us in a consciousness of thy 
sympathy with us, of how much thou art to us, 
and of what we are to thee. 

Thou that hast loved and hast expressed thy 
love by giving to the uttermost whatsoever thou 
hadst, — thy throne, thine estate of glory and thine 
earthly life, — grant that we may not doubt, that 
at least we may reach up so far as not to doubt, 
that He who hath given all things for our sake 
will freely give us whatever is needed for the war- 
fare of life, for the victory of death, and for our 
translation to the heavenly kingdom ! 

Grant, we pray thee, to thy servants who are in 
thy presence this morning, a blessing according as 
they severally need, at home, in their business, in 
their triumphs, in their difficulties, in their bur- 
dens, in their experiences of anguish and settled 
sorrow, and gloom, and despondency, or in their 
new-blown joys, in their hopes, in their anticipa- 
tions, in all the wide reach of their various soul 
experience. Thou that dost refresh the weary, 



THE SYMPATHY OF GOD. 93 

and renew their strength as the eagle's, grant unto 
every one in tlry presence the morning's blessing 
and the day's bounty ; and may this day be one 
of the days of the Son of man to every one of us. 

Grant thy blessing to rest upon all that labor 
in word and doctrine among us. May their lives 
be more and more sanctified. May their courage 
be increased continually. May they grow not 
alone in outward attainments, but in the spirit of 
Christ, and show forth that Spirit wherever they 
go. Bless our schools and missions. Eemember 
their officers, their teachers, and all the pupils 
that are gathered unto them. Will the Lord have 
them in his holy care and keeping, by day and by 
night, by week-day and by Sabbath. May thy 
blessing rest upon all those who are seeking to 
understand the scope of charity, and are endeavor- 
ing to supply the wants of the poor and needy. 
Wilt thou bless those that visit jails and hospitals, 
and those that go forth into the highways and 
byways, to make known the unsearchable riches of 
Christ Jesus. 

We pray that thou wilt bless all our magistrates, 
all our judges, all that bear authority, and all 
that perform for the community the necessary 
functions of government. Bless the whole body 
of citizens. May knowledge prevail everywhere. 



94 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

May all that is base be more and more thoroughly 
trodden under foot. May that which is divine 
in humanity mingle in the government and 
council of our nation. May this great people, 
that in outward prosperity is set above all 
others, stand also clothed in equity and human- 
ity, as well as liberty ; may it be a bright ex- 
ample to the struggling nations of the earth ; 
and may they, following this example as set by 
our fathers, become commonwealths founded upon 
the fear of the Lord, and upon his testimonies. 



(Elosfng draper. 

Our heavenly Father, we pray for those who are im- 
perilled by temptation. "We pray for those whose feet 
are sliding in a slippery way. We pray for those who 
are beginning to be discouraged in their efforts to re- 
form. O God, forget not the down falling ! We pray 
for the outcasts whom all men have forgotten. We 
pray for the elevation of those whom all society hates. 
We pray that men may be taken out from under the 
hoof and put upon their feet again. Grant that more 
and more the spirit of love may rule in us and regulate 
our outward life. Purify our households, working out 
in us towards others that divine sympathy which thou 
hast towards us. Let thy kingdom come and thy will be 
done, on earth as it is in heaven. 



AT THE CL08E OF A YEAR. 95 



Jnbocattcm. 

Pour forth thine own self, thou eternal Creator, God 
and Father; for thou art infinite. There is no measur- 
ing the bounds of thy being. Thy breath is the life of 
the universe. Looking upon us, thou canst bless us with 
a spiritual help, with the atmosphere of heaven, without 
diminishing that which is for all thine host throughout 
thine infinite realm. Enough and to spare is there in 
our Father's house; and why should we go hungry and 
thirsty and faint, whose Lord is the God Jehovah ! 
Vouchsafe to us, then, some token of the sweetness of 
thy power and of the greatness of thy love, transforming 
in us thy thought upon ours. May our hearts feel the 
waves that beat in from thy heart upon the shores of 
time. And in thy house, where thou hast wrought for 
many years great mercies upon our souls, again, this 
day, O thou loving and all-sufficient Saviour, pour forth 
the fruit of thy grace, that we may abound therein, and 
be rich in the everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, our 
Lord. 



&t t?)e OHose of a ¥ear. 

We rejoice, our Father, that thou hast taught us 
that there remaineth a rest for the people of God ; 
that this life is not all of our experience ; that be- 



96 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

yond the bounds of time swells the infinite, the 
eternal life. Thou art gathering there multitudes 
which no man can number. From every age thou 
hast garnered there; the spirits of the just made 
perfect dwell with thee, and thitherward set the 
streams of time. For us there is this hope and 
this joyful anticipation. We rejoice that the bur- 
dens which we bear, and the sorrows, the troubles, 
and the vexations of life which we experience 
day by day, are things to be forgotten; that they 
are but the dust of the way. Though at the 
time they fill the soul, and absorb the thought, 
yet we rejoice that they are trifles, and are not 
worthy to be mentioned in comparison with the 
exceeding and eternal weight of glory which is 
reserved for those who love and fear thee. And 
we beseech of thee that we may be able to live 
this life in the body with a constant faith of the 
great life of the spirit; that we may never be 
discouraged nor beaten down; that we may know 
that we are the King's sons. Though exiled, and 
in disguise, and in poverty, and even cast into 
shame, may we remember our birthright, the treas- 
ure that awaits us, the crown, the throne, the 
scepter, the glory of immortal and perpetual youth, 
where thou art. When the former things shall 
have passed away, when sorrow and dying shall 



AT THE CLOSE OF A YEAR. 97 

have fled, when thou shalt have wiped the tear 
from every eye, and when thou dost comfort us 
even as a father comforteth his child, then, in that 
blessed land where thou dwellest, what will be the 
memory of the troubles which we have had upon 
earth ! 

Grant that now we may be made brave by the 
anticipation of these things through faith. May 
we carry our trouble, our load, whatever it may be, 
patiently, strengthened by thee, and rejoicing in 
thee. . May we seek every day more and more thy 
favor. May our life be hid in thine. May our 
purposes be, not those which roll along the dusty 
road of time, but those which take hold on immor- 
tality and glory. 

As the years go by, and as the signs and tokens 
of departure come to us, may we be more earnest 
for the things that do uot perish, and less and less 
held by the things that do. Help us in all things 
to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in 
the work of the Lord. Though others reel to and 
fro, may we stand in thy strength. Though others 
are confused and perplexed, may we abide in peace 
beneath the shadow of thy wings. Though others 
are bereaved and in great sorrows, may we hear 
thee saying to us, No affliction is for the present 
joyous but grievous, yet afterward it shall work 



98 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them 
that are exercised thereby. 

Grant unto us, in these declining hours of the 
year, such suitable meditations as shall make us 
better fitted for the year that is advancing to us. 
May we seek more earnestly the things that are 
high, and worthy of us, and less and less the things 
that perish in the using. And may thy word give 
us instruction. May it be the man of our counsel 
and our guide. We pray that its wisdom and ex- 
perience may become our wisdom and experience, 
and that in it we may abide as in a fortress. 

Grant, Lord, thy blessing upon all those whose 
pilgrimage is beginning, who are essaying their 
first steps in the higher life. Deliver them from 
every enemy that threatens them from without; 
from the enemies that are within their own hearts; 
from the evils by which they are surrounded ; from 
specious reasonings of every kind; from deceitful 
temptations ; from all guile that would spoil their 
simplicity. Deliver them from everything that 
tends to destroy the nobility of Christian manhood. 
May they prove all things, and hold fast the things 
that are good, living better than we have lived be- 
fore them, with more aspiration and with more 
attainments. 

May thy blessing rest upon the year that is past. 



AT THE CLOSE OF A YEAR. 99 

Grant that the seed which has been sown by thy 
servants in this church may not perish. Though 
the winter storms beat upon it may it come forth 
in the spring and bear fruit a hundredfold. We 
pray that the fruits which have been gathered may 
be but first-fruits; and may we see from month to 
month throughout the coming year the blessing of 
the Lord resting upon the labors of days gone by. 
Wilt thou bless all those who are teachers; all 
those who are ministers of mercy and consolation 
to the afflicted; all those everywhere who are 
building up waste places. Eevive thy work in thy 
churches. Grant, we pray thee, that with the 
expiring year faults may expire, on the right hand 
and on the left ; and in the coming year may there 
be a new record of righteousness. More and more 
may the power of God be manifest in the affairs of 
men. May thy kingdom come, and may thy will 
be done, upon earth as it is done in heaven. We 
ask it in the name of Jesus, our master, to whom, 
with the Father and the Spirit, shall be everlast- 
ing praises. Amen. 



anostng draper. 

Our Father, wilt thou teach us to gain wisdom by 
looking at the past. And grant that we may be enabled, 



100 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

in looking forward, to see the thing that is best. We 
pray that we may not be vain-glorious. May we not be 
man-worshipers. May we see thee above human things 
and national affairs. May we behold thee leading on 
this nation by the feet and hands of all its children 
on every side. May we rejoice at the multiplicity of 
national influences which are at work among us. O may 
we not forget the wisdom of our fathers. And since by 
it thou hast chiefly founded our institutions, we pray 
that we may not change it for any influences which shall 
tend to weakness, and luxury, and effeminacy, and 
monarchy. We pray more and more for this great people 
that they may be built up in self-respect, in purity, in 
intelligence, in self-government, in love of the common 
weal, and in willingness to sacrifice themselves for the 
public good. 

And now we pray that thou wilt bless us when we 
sing again to thy praise. Then may we go home to re- 
joice in all the goodness of God to us in the past. And 
at last bring us to our Father's house on high, where we 
will praise thee forever and forever. 



GOD'S PRESENCE. 101 



Ittbocatum. 

Already thou hast blessed us with the rising light 
both of the sun without and of the sun within, our 
Father, as in this place, made dear by a thousand mem- 
ories, thou art come again to grant to us a sense of thy 
presence, the joy of thy salvation, that peace which be- 
tokens thy presence, and thine overshadowing, in which 
is all power. Help us to tread under foot trouble and 
trial; and this day may we stand as the King's sons, 
crowned with joy. May the services of the sanctuary 
please thee. May we be in sweet fellowship with each 
other. Let all bitterness and darkness be taken away. 
As the children of light and of joy may we come forth 
into liberty this day. 



Soft's presence. 

Lord, our God, we draw near to thee this even- 
ing not as beggars to the princely house where 
they have received doles in days gone by. Thou 
knowest what we have need of, before we ask of 
thee, better than we do. Thou only knowest what 
is best, thou Heart of hearts. Thine hand is large 
and liberal. Thy thoughts are more generous than 
our desires could make them. Thou art before 
us evermore; and we walk in thy footsteps. We 
come to thee that we may feel our souls warmed by 



102 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

the sympathy of thy heart ; that we may be able to 
say, Our Father; that heaven may seem to us our 
home ; that we may not be strangers far away ever- 
more, but children, crying, Abba, — Father. 

So grant to us, this evening, access through thy 
Spirit in us and upon us. Thou canst inspire us, 
if thou wilt, to do the things that are highest. We 
need thy help — light for blind eyes and hearing for 
deaf ears. 

Grant unto us, we beseech of thee, something of 
thyself to-night, that we may realize the worship- 
ing privileges which we have, the hopes which 
spring from thy word, and the confidence which 
comes from thy promises. May we, this evening, 
feel that we have come home to God, to the Saviour 
of the soul, to the light and inspiration of the 
spirit ; and may it be good for us to dwell together 
for the hour in this holy place. How sacred thou 
hast made it! How much of our life has been 
woven here ! How much of all that which gives 
us strength in health or sickness have we derived 
from this fountain into which angels help us to 
descend at the stirring of the waters ! We thank 
thee for the past. We humbly trust thee for the 
future. We rejoice in thee evermore. We desire 
that our lives may seem to us not in ourselves but 
in thee ; and that we may live by faith in Him who 
loved us, and gave himself for us. 



GOD'S PRESENCE. 103 

Father, we are to-night in special need of thee. 
Vouchsafe to us, we pray thee, thy presence. If 
any faint, and their courage fail, may they remem- 
ber that Grod fainteth not. May they behold the 
earth, the heaven, all creation, as their guardian. 
May they not trust themselves and those around 
about them. Grant that the sense of thy presence 
may bring peace and rest to us this evening. If 
there be those that are mourning over evils that 
cannot be repaired, if there be those that look 
upon their own lives deeply stained with sin, if 
there be those who see that their dispositions are 
wrenched asunder, and controlled, thou that 
dost bring health to sickness, and strength to 
weakness, and hope to despair, appear to them. 
Bless those who are in prison. Make thy power 
manifest among thy people, to forgive sins not 
only, but to heal. May there be some sent away 
to-night with the blessing, Peace; thy faith hath 
made thee whole. May there be some that shall 
learn to trust Him who is the Author of their 
faith, and the Finisher thereof, who lives to love, 
and who loves to heal, and to make pure and per- 
fect those that cast themselves upon him. May 
there be some souls that to-night shall give their 
hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that 
thou wouldst bring in, from time to time, those 



104 A BOOK OF PKAYER 

that hunger and thirst after righteousness. May 
the royal bread and water of life be abundantly 
supplied to them. Bring them, we pray thee, to 
that bread and to that water which forever shall 
satisfy their hunger and quench their thirst. 

We thank thee for so many as have been brought 
to thee here, and are now witnesses of thy sustain- 
ing grace in heavenly places through Christ Jesus. 
Lord, multiply the number of those who shall fill 
the places of those who are gone. As one and an- 
other wait for the summons, impatient to go and 
be with Christ, which is better than life, grant that 
there may be others brought forward to fill their 
places. 

May this church be a fountain of consolation. 
Multiply its influences for good. Revive thy work 
in our midst; may we see men flocking to the 
throne of grace ; and may we build for thine own 
honor and glory, that the power of the gospel may 
not seem misspent, and vain, but stronger than 
ever, and more fruitful. 



Grant thy blessing, our Father, to rest upon the word 
spoken; and may it be a word to every one of us — a seed 
planted; and may the harvest, near and far, be abun- 
dant. 



THE GREATER LIFE. 105 



Inboeatt'on* 

Give to us, our Father, that illumination by which we 
shall rise from the flesh and from things visible and 
material, to the realm of thought and feeling — even into 
the great invisible world around about us, where thou 
art, where spirits dwell, and to which we hasten. Grant, 
this morning, that we may have communion by the soul 
with thee. Cleanse and give sight to our darkened 
eyes, and life to our dullness; and grant that in all 
services of the sanctuary we may have the joy that 
comes from the blessing of thy love. Grant that in the 
reading of thy Word, and in listening to it, in medita- 
tion, in the fellowship of song and in the communion of 
prayer, we may be divinely led and blessed, through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. 



€f)e (Greater Utfe. 

We do not humble ourselves before thee, our 
Father. We are sorry for our sins, but we are 
made lower than thou art, and we are not sorry for 
our inferiority. That . we do not love thee to the 
measure of our capacity is our grief. That our 
purposes are so easily overwhelmed is our sorrow. 
That we are so open to incitements that move our 
lower life, and so dull to those that come upon the 
soul in the greatness of its strength, is our grief 
and sorrow day by day. Yet we contest, we fight, 



106 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

and we believe that in the end we shall be con- 
querors and more than conquerors through Him 
that loved us. We go on every day with our con- 
flict, still praying, and yet believing that finally we 
shall overcome and sit down in thy kingdom. 

We desire to bear this thought of sanctity in our 
affairs. We desire to feel that things which are 
the least, which are the most remote from observa- 
tion, and which have no value in the eyes of this 
world, are part and parcel of that great movement 
by which we are ascending from the lower to the 
higher spheres, from the life of the body to the 
life of the spirit, and to the worship of God. 
While we rejoice to pluck the flowers that thou 
hast caused to grow plentifully along the way of 
our feet, while we are grateful for the fruit that 
hangs down for our need, yet, Lord our God, we 
desire to feel that this is not our home; that the 
world is not our abiding-place; that we are 
strangers and pilgrims in this sphere; that we are 
hastening through it; and that our real home is 
with God, and with the heavenly host. May we 
not count ourselves unworthy of this greater life. 
Though we be in poverty here, though we be in 
degradation or disesteem, though we be neglected 
or in contempt, we desire to forget never that we 
are sons of God. In the midst of suffering and 



THE GREATER LIFE. 107 

trial and conflict, and all the things that men call 
disasters, we still desire to walk worthy of our 
vocation. Be pleased to give us this inward 
strength. Gird us every day for the conflict of life. 
Give us patience every day. Give us faith and in- 
sight every day.. Every day give us courage and 
hope, and some song of rejoicing. Though our 
feet be in fetters, though the prison be closed 
around about us, and the guards be set over us, 
may we sing songs in the night, and find an angel 
of deliverance. 

We pray that our whole life, though it must be 
a life of conflict, may be a life of ascending, so 
that by and by, in years to come, we may stand on 
heights of experience, looking forth as from the 
land of Beulah, and discerning the sacred city. 
Though we cannot with our ears hear the songs of 
the redeemed, yet in our hearts we discern them — 
we know their welcoming call. 

Grant, we pray thee, that we may live as seeing 
Him who is invisible, the Prince of Love, the 
Glory and Joy of Heaven, the sours Liberator, our 
Redeemer and Leader. 

All the world is nothing without thee. Thou 
art all in all. May we discern thee, and with 
growing apprehension, as the days move on, until 
thy will is accomplished, and we know that we 



108 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

have fulfilled the purposes of our God upon earth. 
Then, quicker than birds rise in autumn and fly 
to everlasting summer, may we lift ourselves up, 
and fly away, and be at rest, and join the great 
congregation, the multitude of the redeemed in the 
heavenly city, where there shall be no more sick- 
ness, no more sorrow, no more sin, and where God 
shall lovingly embrace each one, even as the mother 
embraces the child that is grieved, and wipe the 
tears from every eye. 



atlcismg Stager. 

Our Father, forgive our feebleness and our cowardice, 
forgive us that we should be so soon drawn aside from 
the great things of thy kingdom to the interests of our 
minor lives. Give us that exaltation of spirit which 
shall abide. Give us such hearts that we can rejoice in 
suffering, yea, and make up that which is lacking in 
Christ, in our own bodies. "We pray that thou wilt look 
upon the strifes of men. At least wilt thou interpret 
the meanings of them to thy people. Look upon those 
that in weakness and want are struggling, they know 
not how nor by what ways, to reach where the air is 
pure, and where manhood can live. Be on the side of 
the poor. Be on the side of the wronged and the out- 
raged. Smite the tyrant, and destroy tyranny. Bring 
in the shining light of knowledge and intelligence. 
O God, be thou the God of the people ; and let all the 
earth praise thee. 



GOD'S FATHERLINESS. 109 



Jhtbocatt'on. 

Almighty God, thou hast met us in this place full 
often ; and here, in contemplation, or in sacred song, or 
in the knowledge of thy truth, thou hast revealed thy- 
self to us — to us personally, in our wants, in our neces- 
sities, in our aspirations, and in our desires, adapting 
thyself to our need. We come again, since we are 
always necessitous, and are invoked of thee to come in 
every time of need, but to give thanks ; to rejoice in thy 
praise ; to feel the reality of thine existence ; to take 
hold of something higher than things seen, and refresh 
ourselves with the communion of those who are gone 
before. Grant that everything which shall hinder this 
rising of the soul above its circumstances in the body 
may be taken away. May all that carry trouble take 
hope. Rise thou, as the sun out of the sea to the weary 
mariner, in the clear heaven, and shine abroad, Sun of 
righteousness, with glory and healing in thy beams. 



(Sato's dFatijerltnegs. 

Sunday Morning, March 9, 1879. 
Up through the multitude of thy mercies we 
raise our thoughts, Lord our Father. By that 
which we have learned of love and care from our 



110 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

earthly parents we conceive something of thy good- 
ness; but what man hath lived that was not filled 
with imperfection ! What is there upon the earth 
of parentage so disinterested and so full of power, 
of goodness, of understanding, and of all beauty 
and excellence as to be fit to represent thee and 
the grandeur of thine infinite nature ! But when 
thou hast taught us that thou art a Father, we 
bring to the conception of thy nature all that which 
we have learned in the household of love and fidel- 
ity; and we hear thee saying, "If ye, being evil, 
know how to give good gifts to your children, how 
much more shall your Father which is in heaven 
know how to give good things to them that ask 
him ! " All the amplitude of that grand estate 
which is vouchsafed to man is thine. All the 
seasons roll forevermore in thee. All the out- 
stretch of knowledge and wisdom and goodness, all 
of tenderness and beauty, are wrapped up in thee. 
Thou art the cause of everything that men admire, 
and love, and desire, and hope for. In thee is the 
kingdom of heaven. Thou art filled with all the 
treasures of goodness. Thou art to us a Father. 
Thou hast called us not sons only, but heirs. We 
inherit. We are going toward the eternal, the 
treasure-house of eternity. We are advancing 
from poverty to riches, from weakness to strength, 



GOD'S FATHERLINE8S. Ill 

from being unknown to knowledge and to glory. 
We are now struggling, that are to be victorious. 
"We are now veiled, that are to shine with open 
face in the full luster of the glory of God. We 
are often cast down, that never again shall know 
weakness. We are making battle that we may 
have the everlasting victory. Through tears, 
through darkness, through sorrows, through all 
manner of self-reproach, we are lifting up the eye 
of faith toward that future when we shall know 
ourselves as we are known, and be as the angels of 
God. Blessed be thy name, that we may look up 
through all the distemperatures of life! As the 
end and aim of our very being may we live toward 
glory and honor and immortality. May it be ours 
to aspire to be in intimate communion with thee, 
that we may never be separated from thee. 

Having loved thine own, thou lovest them unto 
the end ; where thou art there they shall be ; and 
we comfort ourselves in this knowledge. Not that 
we are wise, but that thou art wise. Not that we 
are strong, but that thou art almighty. Not that 
we are good, but that thy grace is more than suffi- 
cient for whatever is evil in us. We live in thy 
lenity and forgiveness; in thy mercy, which is 
tender mercy; in thy kindness, which is loving 
kindness. 



112 A BOOK OF PBAYER. 

And now, accept our thanks for all these hopes. 
May they breed- in us more and more cheerfulness 
and patience. More and more may we lift up to 
thee thankful and worshipful hearts. Give us, this 
morning, the spirit of devotion. May we join in 
the songs of those that forever rejoice in thee. 
May we cast out that sorrow and that grief which 
are treason to hope, that we may this morning soar 
upward higher than birds that sing in the air. 
May we as out of the branches of the tree of life 
sing to-day with joy in our hearts. We pray that 
thou wilt grant to us the faith of sons ; and may 
we from this time forth renew our strength, and 
walk in all the way of the Lord blameless. 

Bless, we pray thee, all who are in thy presence, 
according to their circumstances and conditions. 
Bless the aged. Bless those that are in the midst 
of the battle of life. Bless the young. Bless the 
little children. Will the Lord be gracious to them 
all. We pray that thou wilt day by day meet the 
exigencies of life by thy providence ; and when all 
outward help seems to fail, and trouble surrounds 
us like night, grant that then we may be strong in 
the Lord, when we are not able to be strong in 
ourselves; and may we hope in the Lord, and re- 
joice in the Lord. 

Bless, we pray thee, all the schools that are con- 



GOD'S FATHEBLINES8. 113 

nected with this church, all its missions and all its 
labors. We pray that thou wilt sanctify all the 
officers of our schools and missions, the teachers, 
and all that go out to make known the gospel of 
Jesus Christ. We pray that thou wilt take away 
from this people vanity, and pride, and self-seek- 
ing, and vain-glory. May they be humble and 
gentle. May they put on the Lord Jesus Christ. 
May they not envy one another, nor any others. 
And we pray that by their holy lives, by the sweet- 
ness of their disposition, and by their Christ-like- 
ness everywhere, they may gain final victory. 



anosing Stager. 

We beseech of thee, O God, that thou wilt look forth 
from out of thine eternity of light ; for there love dwell- 
eth, and giveth light and joy. Bless us in our despoiled 
condition, helpless, captive, yet praying, and reaching 
up our hands for deliverance. Have compassion upon 
us, this morning, not according to our deserving, but 
according to the abundant riches of thy goodness. 
Vouchsafe to us that inspiration which shall enable us 
to receive the light of truth from out thy Word. Thou 
that didst, upon the day which this day celebrates, come 
forth thyself from sleep and the grave, to give light and 
life to the world, bring thou the spirit of truth forth 
from the death of the letter to us, with a joyful resur- 
rection of life for the soul. 



114 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 



Inbocatfon. 



Vouchsafe, not from afar off, but near unto us, 
Lord our God, thy blessing, which comes from thine 
inshining. We are not to cry to thee as if thou wert at 
a distance. Heaven is not a long way from us. Thy 
thoughts run very swiftly. Or, if we know our own 
thought or our own feeling, behold thou art close at hand. 
We draw toward thee, this morning, asking that we may 
feel thy nearness, and that by the power of the Holy 
Ghost we may be lifted above the conceptions of our 
bodies, and into that realm of the soul with which 
thou dost hold communion, and that we may be there as 
dear children, and thou as the beloved Head and Father. 
So, God, may thy grace be unto us, and the service of 
the day be blessed and memorable, to thine honor and 
glory. 



W$t Bttllnegg of <£artf)lp Vision, 

Lord our God, in the midst of praise and 
gladness thou art not forgetful of those that dwell 
in weakness and in the shadow of life. We are 
beginners — babes; but thy heart is as a mother's, 
and, whatever else in the household may be for- 
gotten, never the child ! Whatever angels may be 



THE DULLNESS OF EARTHLY VISION. 115 

about thee, whatever royal decrees may go forth in 
majesty to their execution, and whatever may be 
the pomp, the triumph and the rejoicing around 
about the heavenly sphere, the earth is not for- 
gotten. Its sorrows, its various trials, are all before 
thee. Thou dost bear us in perpetual remem- 
brance. And we rejoice in this sovereignty of 
love, in this sympathy of love, in this ever-presence 
and omniscience of love. It is our hope, as it is 
our life. 

But we are glad that all is not as we see it. We 
are glad that around about us and near to us there 
go forth incessantly so many joys and so many 
songs of triumph. We rejoice that there are such 
victories that shall know no more overthrow. We 
rejoice that there is a rest undisturbed by sin or by 
want, near to us, just above us. Were we not en- 
cased in the flesh we should hear the holy conver- 
sation of the upper realm. Were not these eyes of 
the body too much dulled, we should behold the 
endless throngs that surround us — the assembly 
of the just, the angels ministrant, the church tri- 
umphant. With all our hearts we should enter 
into the communion of the saints. While yet 
upon the earth we should speak to those that 
are in the heavenly sphere. But though these 
opaque bodies let nothing shine through them, 



116 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

we rejoice in the preciousness of the thought of 
what is beyond. And we beseech of thee, Lord 
our God, that thou wouldst grant unto us more 
and more of that faith which overcomes the world 
and sin. Grant unto us that holy hope which 
shall cheer us in the midst of despondencies and 
troubles. 

May thy blessing, this morning, rest upon thy 
servants who are gathered together here. Who 
shall read the open book of life ? Not they that 
bear joy know what that joy means. Not they 
that carry sorrows know the secret of sorrow. 
Every heart has a life which it cannot describe 
nor understand. But naked and open are we be- 
fore Him with whom we have to do. Thou know- 
est the thoughts and the intents of the heart. And 
we pray that thou wilt, in the grace of thy great- 
ness and goodness, vouchsafe to every one in thy 
presence to-day that which he needs. For empti- 
ness give full supply. For weakness give strength 
of the right kind in overpowering measure. For 
sorrow give joy, unless the sorrow be for medicine 
yet to be taken. 

We pray that those who are dim of sight may 
have vision revealed to them through the Spirit of 
God. May those that are poor behold what treas- 
ures undimmed, and never to pass away, are theirs. 



THE DULLNESS OF EARTHLY VISION. 117 

May those that are lonely hear the voice of the 
church above calling for them in sweet cheer of 
companionship. May those that are restless and 
heartsick and homesick be very near to thee and 
to thy heart, that their hearts may be cured. 

We pray that thou wilt grant thy blessing of 
harmony to all that are in the midst of trouble at 
home by reason of divided counsels. Bless all that 
are suffering from the vexations of poverty. Be 
with all that are perplexed to know the way of 
duty. To all that do not know how to guide their 
hand we pray that thou wilt grant that wisdom 
which is promised from above, and which thou 
givest liberally, upbraiding not. We pray that 
parents who are seeking to rear their children 
aright may know how to touch the sentiments of 
honor and of truth and of piety in them from the 
morning of life, and to bring them up to be better 
than they themselves are. 

Bless, we pray thee, all in our midst who are 
seeking to bring forth a nobler manhood among 
men, more Christ-likeness, and more power therein. 
Grant that our schools may live before thee, and be 
as a garden of the Lord wherein thou dost walk. 
Wilt thou grant to the teachers and the officers 
the grace of God and the spirit of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, that they may bear about in themselves 



118 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

not only the letter of the truth, but also the life 
of the truth, and be a gospel known and read of 
all men. We pray for all missions, for all chari- 
ties, and for all those that administer them. "We 
pray for those that are visiting the sick, and 
preaching to those who are in prison, and carrying 
the gospel to those who are in the highways, and 
seeking to relieve the wants of the world without. 
As they bear blessings to others, may they receive 
blessings. And may all of us seek more and more 
to follow the example and manifest the spirit of 
Jesus Christ. 

We pray for the nations of the earth, that they 
may learn war no more, and seek the things which 
make for peace. But if it must needs be that 
the cup from thy hand shall be drank, if yet it is 
needful that there should be the chastisements of 
war, let the bolt descend, let the day hasten, and 
let the time pass quickly by to bring in that better 
era afterward in which men shall learn righteous- 
ness, and in righteousness learn justice, and love, 
and dwell together in peace, that all the earth may 
see thy salvation. 

We offer these petitions, not because we are 
worthy, but in the name of Jesus. For his sake 
hear us; and to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit 
shall be praises evermore. 



THE DULLNESS OF EARTHLY VISION. 119 



(Elostng ^rager. 

Our Father, we beseech of thee that we may look up 
and forward into heaven lighted by a Divine Love. May 
we have a better thought and a nobler measurement of 
the infinite mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Thou art the 
God of all the earth. Thou hast proclaimed thyself the 
Father. Thou hast declared the length and breadth and 
height and depth of thy love by this — that thou didst 
die. Thou hast declared that greater love there is not 
than this. Thou hast made known to us, by all that we 
can understand, that thy love is the greatest that is con- 
ceivable. Into the hands of that love we commit our 
infant children. Into the hands of that love we give 
all the members of our household, as one by one they 
may be taken from us. Into the hands of that love we 
give the poor, the ignorant, the needy, the perishing, 
the stumbling ones. Into the hands of that love we give 
those whose life has been full of blemishes and mistakes. 
O Lord Jesus Christ, is there not something which thou 
canst save, and out of which thou canst unfold, in the 
glory of thy kingdom, the full and perfect stature of 
holiness ? We commend our race to thee. We dare not 
look at its darkness. We dare not count the years in 
which the world has rolled in misery. We dare not 
think of those who have no gospel, no preacher, no 
church, no institutions of mercy. We dare not think of 
all those who are cruelly ridden, and worse treated than 
the beasts of the field. All that we can do is to look up 
at thee. It will be right in the end. It must be right 



120 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

then. Since thou art a manifestation of God, suffering 
that others may not suffer, though life be all unex- 
plained and all dark, we have hope in the goodness of 
God. In our strivings to please thee, and to make at- 
tainments in a Christian life, our faith will be that we 
are to be saved by the grace of God. And if at last we 
are brought into the heavenly land, we will give praise 
of our salvation to the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Spirit. Amen. 



REFUGE FROM TROUBLE. 121 



Refuge from Croufile, 

BEFORE LECTURE-ROOM TALK. 

Thou that didst walk upon the water to thy 
terrified disciples on the sea at night ; thou that 
didst go upon the ship carrying to them peace and 
gladness, and shame because they feared thee, 
grant, we beseech of thee, that we may know thee 
in the night, and upon the swelling sea. When 
the winds are out, and the storm is cruel, draw 
near to us, and teach us at last not to be afraid of 
the coming Christ ; for thou hast in thine heart 
peace enough for thyself, and for all that will trust 
in thee. Grant to us the power of living above 
the turmoil of life, and of finding rest in thee. 

Lord our God, may we learn to fly high, as 
fowls do, that lift themselves up when winter 
storms come on in the north, and rise higher than 
the fowler's aim, and make their way into summer 
and safety far above the reach of danger. Teach 
us to fly heavenward, high above the earth — too 
high to be alarmed — so near to thee that always 
thy hand, lifted, rests upon us, when we cry in the 
night, even as a mother's hand rests upon the babe 
in the cradle. 



122 A BOOK OF PRAYER, 

We beseech of thee that thy name may be glori- 
fied in that which thou dost to our inward nature ; 
for while we are glad of the bread which comes 
from thee to nourish our bodies, while we are 
thankful for thy providence which takes care of 
us day by day, that which is better than the body 
— the soul— most needs thy care ; and we pray 
that we may be lifted into that which is pure, and 
true, and just, and right, and godlike. 

for those thoughts which move in harmony 
with thine ! for those impulses which, rolling 
toward the heaven, make no discord among angel 
choirs! for that faith which overcomes the 
world, and discerns through its darkest clouds a 
bright and eternal gate shining always! for 
that soul-rest, for that nesting in the bosom of 
God, by which we shall be as safe as the sparrow 
in its nest ! 

Lord our God, are not these the things which 
thou dost desire us to ask? Thou hast granted 
these things to our fathers, and to our fathers' 
fathers for many generations. In every age thou 
hast had thy servants in trouble. They have 
called to thee from out of dungeons, and from out 
of exile, and from out of caves of the earth, or 
when they were wandering to and fro clothed in 
sheepskins and goatskins — men of whom the world 



REFUGE FROM TROUBLE. 123 

was not worthy; thou hast heard them every- 
where ; and they are with thee. They are glori- 
fied. The world could not hurt them ; the fire 
could not devour them; the axe could not destroy 
them; the prison could not confine them; nothing 
could harm them. They have escaped out of every 
trouble ; for ages they have been triumphant ; and 
to them every thought or memory of suffering or 
fear is as a setting cloud. We are going to follow 
them. Many of our children have gone on before. 
Many of our parents are with them in heaven. 
Many of our nearest friends are there. And how 
near we are to the pleasure-ground of the universe ! 
How near we are to all whom we have mourned ! 
How near we are to perpetual blessedness among 
the blessed ! 

Why should we look upon ourselves as unfortu- 
nate, why should we walk as disowned and dis- 
honored paupers, since we are our Father's, under 
his eye, in his heart, thought of and nourished 
daily, soon to be crowned, and soon to find the end 
of sorrow and of burden ? teach us patience, 
teach us trust, give us a peace which the world 
cannot take away, give us God ; and what need 
we more ! 

Thou that wert pierced for us, thou of the 
wounded side, Jesus, Saviour, we commit our- 



124 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

selves to thee; and in thine arms we are at rest; 
we commit all our ways to thee, saying, Now 
glorify thyself ! In life or death, in joy or suffer- 
ing, in honor or dishonor, whatever may be best, 
mete it out as seemeth best to thee. Give to us 
only the one gift of faith and trust in thee, and we 
care not for all the rest. 

Wilt thou grant this to all those who are labor- 
ing with vulgar cares and sordid sorrows ; to all 
those who are carrying unnecessary burdens and 
anxieties, and vexing themselves with needless 
fears ; to all those who are in distress for their 
children or their friends. Teach us the way where 
we can throw off trouble. Bring us to thee. "Why 
art thou a Saviour, but that we may be saved ? If 
there is an inexhaustible store of love in thee, why 
should we go without bread, without water, with- 
out light and without rest? thou blessed 
Saviour, give to thy dear people the secret of 
making use of thee, that they may walk without 
care and without burden, and in constant serenity 
of joy — yea, in songs of triumph. 



(Elosmg Stager. 

Grant unto us, our Father, that we may rise up out 
of doubt and fear to a higher conception of the grandeur 



REFUGE FROM TROUBLE. 125 

of thine empire, and the clarity of thine heart. May 
we believe that thy smile pierces the darkness, and that 
thine eye lights and warms all places where it rests. 
May we learn, as a bereaved widow, disconsolate, learns, 
that God is the husband of Time ; and may we believe 
that all influences are in his hands for gladness through 
goodness. Help us to review thy way with us, and be 
ashamed because we have been so unconscious of thy 
mercies, and because we have let go by such tides of 
benefaction unrecorded, noting only the salient influ- 
ences, and allowing to pass unheeded the great pro- 
cession of thy goodness that incessantly marches by. 
May we repent that we have been rebellious, and have 
treated with contempt the pains and pangs that we 
have felt, but that were messengers of mercy to lift us 
higher into joy. 



126 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 



Inbocatfon* 

Vouchsafe to us, O Lord, the token of thy presence, 
in those gracious affections which spring at thy touch ; 
for we are powerless when we depend upon our own 
will. Give to us the inward life, the power of discern- 
ing thee, the uprising of our secret affection toward 
thee ; and grant that we may draw near to thee with 
hope, with faith, with love, and with great comfort. 



Bfbtne Strength for J^uman SSuxlitnx. 

Sunday, January 28, 1877. 

Thou ever-blessed God, we rejoice in thee ; for 
though we cannot follow the searching of thine 
eye, nor by our thoughts follow the flight of thy 
mind, nor behold the creation in which thou art 
sitting supreme, God over all, blessed and blessing, 
yet, with some thoughts and more vague yearn- 
ings, we do rise toward thee ; we come at least to 
touch the hem of thy garments, and to rejoice that 
thou art God, and that there is none beside thee — 
that there is no divided empire, and no conflict 






DIVINE STRENGTH FOR HUMAN BURDENS. 127 

which thou hast not permitted. Thou hast re- 
strained the wrath of man, and caused the re- 
mainder thereof to praise thee ; and all things go 
forth in an endless procession of wisdom. That 
which is dark to us is light to thee, and that which 
is discordant is coming to harmony in thine ear. 

The feeble is growing strong, and the rough 
places are growing smooth. Thou art bringing 
down, and thou art exalting. All things shall yet 
show forth thy glorious goodness and wisdom and 
nobleness ; and then we shall behold thee, not with 
mortal eyes, blinded by excess of light. When 
we are transformed into thy likeness, and the 
soul can see, we shall behold thee ; the heart will 
rejoice in thee with joy unspeakable and full of 
glory ; and there shall be silence in heaven. All 
hearts will be too full to speak. There will be 
joy and out-breaking songs there when thou shalt 
by thy word and by thy look call forth from the 
souls of those that are saved all tremblings of 
gladness and all thoughts of ecstasy. 

We thank thee that thou art by light as well as 
by darkness bringing on the seasons, tempering 
both day and night to the wants of creation. We 
thank thee that thou art guarding thy people in 
the winter and in the summer ; in the darkness 
and in the light ; through sorrow and through 



128 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

joy. Through suffering the Captain of our salva- 
tion was made perfect, and through suffering shall 
his disciples be made perfect. Yet, for the joy 
that was set before thee — for the joy that thou 
didst have even in thy sorrows — thou didst main- 
tain thy purposes, thou didst redeem our souls ; 
by joy in sorrow we would live ; and we pray that 
that grace may be given to us which shall cast upon 
all the darkness through which we pass the light 
of thy countenance. Glorious are storm-clouds 
when the sun shines upon them ; and our troubles 
are made luminous when we know them to be sent 
of God, and conducted mercifully for our good. 

We pray that thou wilt comfort those who are 
cast down. Inspire hope in those who are de- 
spondent, and patience and long-suffering in those 
that are weary of trouble. Give light to those 
who are looking in vain toward the east; and say 
to those who wait and watch, The night is far 
spent, and the day is at hand. 

Grant, we pray thee, that those whose shoulders 
are weary of their burdens may be able to stand in 
Another's strength, if not in their own. Give for 
the crosses which come to us all celestial strength. 
Thou upon the cross, in weakness and in death, 
wert mightier than the things that were ; and 
grant that in our weakness, our crosses, we may 



DIVINE STRENGTH FOB HUMAN BURDENS. 129 

feel the secret power of God in us. We pray that 
more and more we may be so transformed in our 
lives that we shall be capable of understanding 
thee better. We cannot reason to thee. We can- 
not by searching find thee out. Only by growing 
unto thee, only by coming into thy likeness, only 
by partaking of thine experience, can we lift our- 
selves above the physical things of this life, and 
come to spiritual light and life and harmony and 
joy. Vouchsafe, by the power of the Holy Ghost, 
this transforming influence to every one that 
wrestles with sorrow ; to every one that contests 
the hard way of life ; to every one that seeks to 
perform duty in the midst of labor and tears and 
despondency. 

We pray thee to bless all the families that are 
represented in this congregation. Bless the par- 
ents, and make them more as gods to their chil- 
dren. Bless the little ones, and grant that they 
may grow up in the nurture and admonition of the 
Lord. 

Bless all thy servants who go forth in their 
various fields of labor, and in their several en- 
deavors to bear forth to men the message and the 
spirit of the Gospel. Grant, we beseech of thee, 
that every one, at home and everywhere, may 
breathe that sweetness, that purity, that spiritu- 



130 A BOOK OF PBATEB. 

ality, which shall make him seem to men as a son 
of God. 

We pray that thou wilt be pleased to bless our 
whole land and people. Wilt thou by thy Spirit 
so temper the hearts of men to equity and to 
fellowship one with another that no trial, no dis- 
turbance, no storm, shall be able to unsettle that 
peace which God gives. 



Closing draper. 

We thank thee, our Father, for the lessons which thou 
hast granted us in thy word. Accept our thanks for 
the experiences of good men in every age. May we in- 
terpret the word of truth by the revelations which thou 
art making from human life. Teach us to add the un- 
written Bible to the Bible record. We pray that thou 
wilt be on the side of all those who are weak and ready 
to perish. Kaise up in them the power of resisting evil. 
Inspire in us the disposition to care for those that are 
unable to care for themselves. Unite us together in the 
bonds of a common union. Teach us dependence upon 
the bounty of an ever-loving God. Deliver us from all 
evil, strengthen us in all good, and bring us, at last, 
through the unspeakable grace and mercy of our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ, where we shall be permitted to 
enter the company of the blessed in the heavenly land. 



FOR FAITH IN THE UNSEEN. 131 



Inbocatum. 

What are we, that we should mingle our voices, 
coarse and discordant, with the voices of those that sing 
everlastingly, with joy and with love, in thy presence, 
O God ! And yet the voice of our children, though they 
be in the cradle and inarticulate, is sweet, and thou canst 
hear music where we hear but discord, and thou canst 
gather pleasure where we can only feel pain. For thou art 
God. Now, we beseech of thee that thou wilt accept the 
offerings which we bring to thee — our thoughts, though 
they droop; our affections, though they be poor; our 
desires, though they be mistaken. Be pleased, even for 
thine own sake, to look upon us with great grace, and 
love, and compassion, this morning, and hear us, and 
guide us through every step of our services. Bless to us 
this whole day of rest, that it may be a day in which the 
heavens shall open above us and cause the earth to 
smile. So may our Sabbaths, as they succeed each 
other, be blessed of thee till we enter that rest which re- 
maineth for the people of God. 



dFor dFattf) in tf)e $&n$nn. 

January 27, 1878. 
Befoke we ask thee, our wants are supplied. It 
is not by our supplication that the sun comes 
forth, bringing light and heat. Thy bounty rolls 



132 A BOOK OF PRAYER 

the day and seasons, whether or not thou art ques- 
tioned or solicited. To all — to the good and the 
bad, to the just and the unjust — thy ways upon the 
earth are ways of bounty. Thou art gracious and 
merciful; restoring, and not slaying. We rejoice 
in the greatness of thy nature, and we rejoice that 
the royalty of that nature is in thy goodness. This 
is beyond anything that we know or can know. 
What is the height and the depth and the length 
and the breadth of God's goodness no man may 
understand. It transcends all human price, and all 
that we have seen. We shall not find thee dimin- 
ished when we behold thee as thou art. Thou wilt 
not be less glorious, but more glorious than we 
think thee to be. All that the thought can com- 
pass, all that the imagination can conceive, and all 
that the tenderest experience of earth has known, 
will be thrown into darkness when the splendor 
of thy nature shall come to be apparent to our 
cleansed and resurrected souls. We shall rejoice, 
not in the outward life, nor in ourselves, but in the 
common possession, with all thy children, of the 
glory of our God. Then, marshaled, we shall move 
on, unbroken in rank, built up in knowledge and 
holy dispositions, and made like unto thee, every 
one fulfilling some part of that concordant life 
which is music and gladness. 



FOU FAITH IN THE UNSEEN. 133 

We look out of the clash of this lower sphere as 
if heaven were impossible. Yet it remains; that 
glorious realm exists; and we are drawn near to it. 
We believe that not many days shall elapse before 
some of us will stand in Zion and before God, and 
that all the suffering of this present life will be, as 
a storm of years gone by, forgotten. 

We pray, therefore, that we may beforehand, by 
apprehension of faith, discern the reality of the in- 
visible life, overcoming the things that are by the 
things that are not; overcoming actual fatigue, 
sickness, discouragements, temptations, and the 
hopelessness of this life, by the power of hope and 
faith in the life that is to come. May we be mighty 
through thy Spirit, so that we shall be able, having 
done all, to stand against all, and be victorious. 

We thank thee for the experiences of years past. 
We thank thee for our chastisements. We thank 
thee for our mistakes. Yea, we thank thee for 
those transgressions whose pardon has opened up 
to us the love and mercy of our God. And we 
pray, Lord, since we have learned what thou art 
by thy mercy toward us, that now love may con- 
strain us, and that in faithfulness to thee we may 
do no thing that will grieve thee. May we press 
forward to do the things that please thee. And we 
pray that thou wilt inspire in us a loftier concep- 



134 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

tion of holiness of life, and more and more spiritual 
power to attain unto it. We thank thee that there 
are some who have reached nearly to the borders of 
that land of settled peace, where the shining of the 
sun is perpetually upon them; and we beseech of 
thee that thou wilt cheer others who hunger and 
thirst after righteousness; and may their aspira- 
tions toward it be fulfilled. We pray that more 
and more of us may be ambitious in spiritual 
things, and less and less ambitious in things of the 
outward life — in the pomp and vanities of time. 
May more of us have a holy and chastened desire 
for those things which shall bring them into thy 
favor, and into communion with thee. 

We pray that thou wilt comfort any that are for 
the time obscured — from whom thy face seems 
hidden. We pray that thou wilt remove the cloud, 
that they may see thee, and come to thee as chil- 
dren, and that they may no longer dwell in the 
thraldom of slavery, and under the bondage of 
fear. 

Bless all who are assembled here this morning. 
May they have come to meet thee; and may they 
not be disappointed. Eeveal thyself as thou know- 
est how to reveal thyself to every one by name, 
that he may know that God hath thought of him, 
and that he hath laid up treasures of mercy for 



FOR FAITH IN THE UNSEEN. 135 

him. And grant to each one, this morning, the 
intimation of that blessing which he needs of light, 
of strength, of direction, of confirmation of the 
presence of thy Spirit. 

We pray that thou wilt help all those who are in 
the relation of parents to be faithful to their cove- 
nant vows, to their promises to thee, and to their 
duties to each other. And grant thy blessing to 
rest upon the children. May those that are yet 
young grow up into manhood not soiled nor 
wounded. May they grow strong in true virtue. 
And may those that are stepping upon the thresh- 
old of life have a nobler ambition than simply 
worldly success. May they put high their concep- 
tion of what is becoming in Christian manhood. 
Strengthen thou those that are in the midst of 
life and its temptations, that they may fight the 
good fight, and maintain the holiness that becomes 
them and blesses the age. And as their infirmities 
grow upon them, and as one and another intima- 
tion is given them of their dissolution, may they 
rejoice in these tokens of the promised land, and, 
being ready to depart, wait patiently for the com- 
ing of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Bless, we pray thee, all the brethren of this 
church that are separated in thy providence from 
us, from whatever cause. If they are detained at 



136 A BOOK OF PRAYER 

home by reason of sickness, may they have the in- 
dwelling peace of the presence of God. If they 
are npon the great deep, command the winds and 
the waves that they care for them. If they are 
pilgrims in other lands, lead them as with a cloud, 
and protect them. And we pray that all this great 
brotherhood may grow in grace and in the knowl- 
edge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 



OtfR Father, wilt thou add thy blessing to the word of 
instruction. Grant that there may come to those who 
are struggling with themselves light which shall release 
them from their thraldom, and enable them to go for- 
ward more joyfully serving thee. Give us to perceive 
how thou desirest us to live. May we serve thee in our 
daily life by everything that belongs to our being. By 
our understanding, by our imagination, by our mirth- 
fulness, may we rise up toward thee. May every part 
of our souls, efflorescent, show forth our love to God. 
And when we go hence, bring us to that upper life 
where we shall see thee no longer as in a glass, darkly 
or partially, but as thou art. 



UNDER CHASTISEMENT. 137 



$nbocatfon. 

Deliver us, our Father, from fear. Even though we 
may be smothered with guilt and apprehension, make 
known to us how different is greatness in God from the 
greatness of man, by which power crushes and over- 
shines the poor and the needy. With thee to be great is 
to be merciful, condescending, and full of all grace, and 
love, and gentleness. Thy greatness it is that draws us 
and wins us. Bring near to us the sense of thy glory in 
thine excellent love. We pray that thou wilt vouchsafe 
to us that inbreathing Spirit by which all that is dull 
and dark in us shall be illuminated; by which our weak- 
ness shall be made strong; by which our waverings and 
uncertainties shall be conformed to all strength of Christ 
Jesus. 



Sunday Morning, Feb. 18, 1883. 
Thou, Lord, hast been gracious unto thy peo- 
ple, and therefore we are yet alive. Thou hast by 
thy providence brought us into thy presence in 
life and in strength; and we desire to make men- 
tion of the goodness of our Lord to us, and to 
bring our thanksgiving before thee, and with one 



138 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

voice and heart to bless thy holy name. "We have 
seen shadows and darkness as well as light; and 
nevertheless we have been sustained by thy right- 
hand; and not only have we come forth into the 
light, but, looking back, we have occasion to thank 
thee even more for chastisements than for joys. 
Thou hast chastened our pride. Thou hast shown 
us on what slender foundations we stand. Thou 
hast made our very strength to be as a shadow. 
Thou hast caused this world to seem small, as it is, 
and the other life to seem glorious and full of hope, 
as it is. 

Lord our God, we pray that thou wilt still 
listen to thine own heart, and not to our cry. Do 
not answer those of our prayers which we utter 
foolishly, but out of thy wisdom and out of thy 
goodness do exceeding abundantly more for us 
than we can ask or think. 

So we pray that we may walk in the way of thy 
providence, sure that it is the best way, ever trust- 
ing thy goodness, always willing to submit our will 
to thine, every day living as in the sight of our 
God, every day liviug as in the presence of the 
heavenly land, and every day mingling our 
thoughts and songs and prayers with those of the 
blessed that surround thy throne. 

We thank thee for this day of ministration and 



UNDER CHASTISEMENT. 139 

of rest; for its friendships ; for its communion; for 
its incitements ; for its consolations ; and now wilt 
thou further grant thy goodness to us in this hour, 
giving us light and impulse for things that are 
high and noble ? Grant, we pray thee, that the 
lessons of thy word and the teachings of the sanct- 
uary may so fall upon the open and honest heart 
that like good seed they shall spring up and bring 
forth abundant fruit to the honor and glory of thy 
name. 

Have compassion, we beseech of thee, upon those 
that are in darkness and trouble; upon those that 
are bound hand and foot. Thou that cfost deliver 
the prisoners, break the doors and the chains that 
hold them, whatever they may be, within or with- 
out; and bring them forth into liberty and light 
and joy. Grant, we pray thee, that if there be 
those who sit in the valley and the shadow of 
death, they may find in thy Word comfort and 
consolation, and may discern the rising of the sun 
of a better day. 

May those who are taking their last steps toward 
the other life be strengthened both in body and 
with a joyful hope of salvation through Jesus 
Christ. 

Be with those that are sick; deal tenderly with 
them as they lie helpless; and if the earth seems 



140 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

to them dark, wilt thou make it bright by thy 
presence, thou divine Comforter. 

We pray that those whose hopes are broken in 
life, whose prosperity is scattered as chaff, may not 
give themselves up to useless despair, but may gird 
up their loins, and resist on every side the evil that 
confronts them; and that having done all they 
may still stand. 

Have, we beseech thee, in thy special compas- 
sion, those who wage conflict in our land with 
strange disasters.* Lord, we pray that the hearts 
of their fellow-citizens may be opened, that the 
poor may not perish at their side, but that there 
may be rescue of those despoiled by raging waters. 
We beseech of thee that thou wilt remember the 
unfortunate in other lands, where thou hast also 
sent forth tokens of chastisement. May the hearts 
of men be subdued. May they fear God. May 
they turn from sin. May they seek in righteous- 
ness after the better life. 

We pray that thy blessing may rest upon all 
those who are outcast; upon all those that are sin- 
sick; upon all those for whose souls no man cares. 
May the Lord raise up those who shall rescue 
them; may thy Grospel have power to reach the 

* Floods at the West, 



UNDER CHASTISEMENT. 141 

uttermost parts of the earth; may thy kingdom 
come in all the world; and may thy glory, dawn- 
ing, shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect 
day. 



(Eiom'ng ^rager* 

Grant thy blessing, our Father, upon the word of 
truth. May it be more and more a stimulus to our con- 
sciences. Thou that hast given thyself a sacrifice for 
sin, thou that hast shed thy blood as an atonement for 
man, thou that hast taken upon thyself the sins of the 
world, thou that hast been crucified, the just for the 
unjust, may that spirit which is in thee, and which thou 
dost manifest to us as the secret of God's nature, be 
in us. May we, in our limited sphere, according to the 
measure of our strength, follow the footsteps of the 
Saviour, and do to others as he has done to us. 



142 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 



fotbacatfon, 

O Thou that art in the midst of praise and rejoicing, 
reach forth thy thought, and by it give to us some joy 
that shall rise above sorrow, some strength that shall 
sustain us in all weakness, some light that shall destroy 
the darkness, some hope that shall be valiant against 
fear, that we may have peace this day in God. Open 
thine heart unto us, thou that sendest the sun and the 
summer. Hast thou exhausted all thy gifts ? Hast thou 
not much more for us on this poor globe ? Bring out of 
our souls all sweet influences for our comfort and for 
thy joy and glory. This day, out of thine infinite full- 
ness, give us something that shall make us rich. Grant 
us a sense of thine amplitude, of thy nearness, of thy 
sympathy, of thy surrounding power and goodness ; 
that we may not seem to ourselves strangers walking 
alone, nor pilgrims in the wilderness, nor overborne 
and desolate by reason of the things that are around 
about us, but that in the Lord we may be strong and 
full of gladness and hope and faith, that conquer the 
world. 



tfax gtafctlttp of dFaitl)- 

Wednesday Evening, Oct. 9, 1878. 
How great are the mercies, Lord our God, 
which thou hast prepared for all that put their 
trust in thee ! How great are the treasures of the 



FOR STABILITY OF FAITH. 143 

heavens, and how great are the treasures of the 
earth ! Upon that very plain where now harvests 
are seen in great abundance men have worked 
through generations in savage life and found no 
harvest. All around about us thou hast prepared 
infinite treasures for human wants, whether men 
know it or not. Thou hast comfort for those that 
are in affliction, though they be not comforted. 
Thou hast strength for those that are weak even if 
they know not how to take that strength. Thou 
hast all blessings that are needed, and standest 
ready to be all things to all, and in all. And yet, 
with bread enough and to spare, with raiment 
abundant, and with all medicine, how many are 
there that go hungry, and naked, and sick, and 
destitute of all things ! 

We desire, Lord, that thou wilt, to all thine 
other mercies, add that gift by which we shall 
trust in thee — faith that works by love; faith 
that abides with us; faith that transforms mate- 
rial things, and gives them to us in their spiritual 
meanings; faith that illumines the world by a 
light that never sets, that shines brighter than the 
day, and that clears the night quite out of our 
experience. This is the portion that thou hast 
provided for thy people. We beseech of thee, 
grant us this faith, that shall give us victory over 



144 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

the world and over ourselves; that shall make us 
valiant in all temptation and in every direction, 
and bring us off conquerors and more than con- 
querors through Him that loved us. 

Lord, thou knowest the strife of every heart. 
Thou knowest who are troubled with pride of 
reason, and with various prides of life. Thou 
knowest who contest with obstinacy; who with 
vanity; who with selfishness in its different forms. 
Thou knowest who are striving with their affec- 
tions. Thou knowest the way of each one, and art 
guiding each according to the nature of the thing 
that is in him. We rejoice in the thought that 
this is so. We would not cast out from our faith 
the belief that thou art continually around about 
us by thy providence. To do this would be to take 
the hope out of our life and the strength out of 
our hands. For what should we be, lifting our- 
selves up against the currents of life, if left alone ? 
But since thou art the everlasting God, and holdest 
those that trust in thee, who can disturb them ? 
They cannot be moved nor swept hither and 
thither. 

Now we desire, God, to have that stability, 
that rest, that peace which passeth all understand- 
ing. We know that we do not deserve it. Our 
fears rise up and tell us that it is not ours; our 



FOR STABILITY OF FAITH. 145 

conscience sits in solemn judgment upon us be- 
cause we have violated our duty; the evil one 
whispers every suggestion of distrust, and on all 
sides we find influences striving to thrust us from 
thee, and from our hope in thee. Yet, though 
these things slay us, we will trust thee. Thou art 
our God though we are not worthy. Though we 
are more sinful than we know, though sin is more 
guilty than we can conceive, though our ingrati- 
tude and dishonor are far beyond any measure we 
have wherewith to measure, yet thou art neverthe- 
less a God of mercy, long-suffering, pardoning 
iniquity, transgression, and sin, though thou wilt 
not clear the guilty. 

We beseech of thee that thou wilt help us in the 
clinging of our pride to evil ; and may we find that 
it is not in vain that our life is hid in thine. May 
we rise up every day as if we were born anew under 
the trials that we are called to endure. 0, that 
we might not forever trudge with our faces to the 
earth where there is no vision ! 0, that we might 
look up and see how the heavens grow brighter 
every year ! The future is dawning, and the light 
approaches closer and closer, and waxes more and 
more brilliant, as we draw near to the throne. Are 
not these streaks in the East to tell us that the day 
is at hand ? 0, that we may look forward to our 



146 A BOOK OF PBAYEB. 

heritage, and that we may from the certainty of 
the joy and glory revealed go back with content- 
ment to bear our burdens and perform our duties 
in life to the very end! From thee, blessed 
Saviour, we draw these hopes. We thank thee 
because thou art what thou art, and hast done for 
us what thou hast. We desire, Lord, afresh to 
consecrate ourselves to thy service, and to live to 
bless thy name. And when, having passed through 
the experiences of this mortal life, we are drawing 
near to our last hours, with crystalline vision may 
we behold the eternal city, and rejoice before thee 
and take our departure, leaving to those behind a 
testimony that the Christ who can sustain in life 
can sustain in death. And when we shall have 
tasted death, may we find that it is immortality — 
that there is no dying to the saint, but only trans- 
lation. And in thy presence, glorified, sanctified 
and saved with an everlasting salvation we will 
give the praise to the Father, the Son, and the 
Spirit. 



Grant, our Father, that we may be made wiser day 
by day. May we be led to see our short-sightedness, 
our heedlessness, our carelessness, all those things in 



FOB STABILITY OF FAITH. 147 

which we are at fault. May we be controlled supremely 
by the great law of life that governs the heavenly host. 
We pray that we may more and more put on the bond 
of love — the girdle that holds together all other parts of 
the celestial raiment. May we walk from day to day 
seeking the higher and better life, and draw all men 
with us. May we make the truth of Christ so beautiful 
in the sight of men that they, seeing our good works, 
shall glorify our Father which is in heaven. Help us, 
we beseech of thee, to overcome sin in all its forms. 
Cure us of its tendencies. Inspire us with noble aspira- 
tions. Have compassion upon our weakness, as thou 
dost teach us to have compassion upon the weakness of 
others. Lift us up, and bear us through the varying 
scenes of life. And when we are called to go hence, 
grant that we may stand as victors before our heavenly 
Father, redeemed through Jesus Christ our Lord. 



148 A BOOK OF PRAYER 



Invocation. 

O Lord our God, breathe upon us the blessing of the 
morning. Vouchsafe to us that divine inspiration by 
which we shall be lifted above the senses, and into the 
supreme quiet of thy realm, where thou art, and where 
they are who have been redeemed and been made joyful 
forever. We belong to thee. We are of the company 
of those who seek the New Jerusalem. We ask that we 
may have some earnest of the blessing which we in- 
herit, and toward which we are traveling. Grant that 
we may have, in the reading of thy Word, in speaking 
from its truths, in all our offerings of sacred song, and 
in our communion of prayer, such divine guidance and 
help as shall lift us up into the very presence and near 
to the very heart of our God. 



Wfyz iUsson of WlwL 

Sunday Morning, March 28, 1886. 
We thank Thee, God, that thou dost ride 
upon the cloud, and govern the storm. All that 
to us is dark is light to thee. The night shineth 
as the day. All that which seems to us irregular 
and ungoverned, is held in thine hand, even as the 
steed by the rein. From age to age thou dost 
control the long procession of events, discerning 



THE LESSON OF REST. 149 

the end from the beginning ; and all the wild 
mixture, all the confusion, all the sorrow and the 
suffering, is discerned of thee. As is the palette 
to the color, as is violence to development in 
strength, as is the crushing of the grape to the 
wine, so in thy sight all things are beneficent that 
to us are most confusing and seemingly conflicting 
and threatening. Sorrow and pain and disaster 
are woven in the loom of God; and in the end 
we, too, shall be permitted to discern the fair pat- 
tern, and understand how that which brought 
tears here shall bring righteousness there. 

0, how good it is to trust thee, and to believe 
that thou art wise, and that thou art full of com- 
passion, as thou carriest on thy great work of love 
and benevolence, sympathizing with all that suffer 
on the way, and gathering them at last with an 
exceeding great salvation ! We trust thee, not be- 
cause we understand thee, but because in many 
things thou hast taught us where we should have 
been afraid to trust. We have crossed many a 
gulf and many a roaring stream upon the bridge 
of faith, and have exulted to find ourselves safe 
landed, and have learned to trust thee, as a child 
a parent, as a passenger the master of a ship, not 
because we know, but because thou knowest. 

We are not called to settle the troubles of to-day 



150 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

or of to-morrow ; we rest in G-od ; and when 
everything is stripped by the frosts of adversity, 
when the fold is cut off, when the fig-tree bears 
no fruit, we yet rejoice in the Lord. And how 
great is the orb of that joy which is in the Lord, 
and is the fountain of all other joys ! For we are 
strong in thee, we are light in thee, and we are 
safe in thee. We rejoice, therefore, that we may 
put our trust in thee, and cast our burdens upon 
thee, knowing that thou dost care for us. 

Teach us this lesson of rest in our own spirits ; 
and, while we are stirred to activity and to energy, 
let us not fall into the conceit of supposing that 
we ourselves work out our own prosperity; for 
thou, God, art lengthening our life, impleting 
our brains, cleansing our hands, and ministering, 
through thy law, on every side, to all our indiffer- 
ence and thoughtlessness. That which we may 
not wisely and successfully do is done in the Lord; 
and if thy thought, which is universal law, were 
taken away for one moment, we should dissolve 
and perish. Grant, therefore, that we may be 
humble in thy presence, and walk softly before 
God, and yet boldly. In every time of need may 
we know how to come to thee; and may the way 
be fragrant where our feet should tread, with 
thought, and communion, and love, and prayer. 






THE LESSON OF REST. 151 

Grant thy blessing upon thy people, this morn- 
ing, assembled here. Though their lips be silent, 
what clouds of incense from every heart go up in 
petitions to thee! Thou knowest, better than 
they know, both what they need and what they 
want. We beseech of thee, therefore, that thou 
wouldst do unto them according to that which is 
best in thy sight. Grant that they may be clothed 
with thyself, with thy patience, with thy gentle- 
ness, with thy long-suffering, with thy tender 
mercies, with thy loving-kindnesses. We pray that 
thou wouldst grant to all of them sympathy with 
each other, so that they may sing rather than 
quarrel along the royal road, and rejoice in each 
other's welfare, the strong bearing with the weak, 
the wise with the ignorant, and all men recogniz- 
ing the sanctity of those about them, in that they 
are of God, and are returning again to God. 

We pray for thy blessing to rest upon our 
whole land ; and in this day of confusion, grant, 
we pray thee, that more than ever before we 
may discern the divine hand and the overruling 
providence, bringing peace out of confusion and 
advancement out of threatenings. And may thy 
kingdom come in all the world. 

This, indeed, is a year of the revelation of the 
right-hand of Almighty God. Afar off, the gar- 



152 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

ments rolled in blood tell of war, and the mur- 
muring of the nations of distrust and distress ; but 
there is peace above; thou wilt rain down right- 
eousness to give peace below; all kingdoms shall 
learn to serve thee; and the unity and brother- 
hood of mankind shall be secured. While labor- 
pains are on the earth, when the new man is to be 
born, let us not, God, be afraid for crying nor 
for tears, but may we rejoice in the birth of this 
man-child. 

We commit to thine hand ourselves and all that 
interests us in time, and all that interests us in 
the eternities. Lord, we are traveling home. Let 
not the watchman sleep at the gate when we come 
to knock. Give us an exceeding and abundant 
entrance into the kingdom of thy glory. And we 
will give the praise of our salvation to the Father, 
the Son, and the Spirit. 



anoaittB Stager. 

Our Father, we pray that thou wilt teach us the 
hidden things. "We know the way outwardly of right 
and duty, but our outward life is full of imperfection. 
The body, being relative to time, needs but little for its 
carriage across the earthly sphere ; but for the soul, 
that is to take a nobler flight, wrapped in the garments 



THE LESSON OF REST. 153 

of immortality, thou blessed God, thy bosom is needful. 
Then put forth thine arms, and lift us up, eternal Spirit, 
and give us a taste of that peace which passeth all un- 
derstanding. May we learn to live in thee ; and, hav- 
ing that life which is hidden with Christ in God, may 
we rejoice that when He shall appear we shall appear 
with him, no longer disfigured, but in full majesty, and 
beauty and power. For the hope of this, and for every 
step of experience toward it, we render thee thanks. 
O thou Saviour, we love thee 1 As the thought of thy 
nature comes forth to us, our souls rise up to greet thee. 
Thou art our King because thou art Love. We submit 
ourselves to thee, saying, Thy will be done — not ours — 
Thine. Receive our dedication. Accept our aspiration 
— our longing for a nobler life. And take us home 
when the body shall drop and the spiritual life shall 
open, that we may in thee find immortality and glory. 



154 A BOOK OF PRAYER 



Invocation. 

Thou, God, infinite in fullness of love and mercy and 
all helpfulness, look graciously upon us. We are less in 
thy sight than are the humblest flowers, that lift them- 
selves up, this morning, under the sun. As compared 
with the greatness of its warmth and life what are they ! 
And what is our littleness before thee ! Thou hast 
brought us forth, O Lord our God, in our helplessness ; 
and thou art standing above and over against all want 
and littleness with infinite supply. We come, not to thy 
fear nor to thy wrath, but to thy goodness and to thy 
mercy ; and we say, Our Father, look compassionately 
and in love upon us, and give us, this day, the bread 
that we need, as for the body so for the soul. And lead 
us out of all ways of sin and temptation up into the way 
where thou art, that we may be able to say, Hallowed be 
thy name, and rejoice in thee, and find all other joys 
heightened by this supreme joy. Grant this blessing, 
to the hour, to the day, and to the year, until this life 
mingles with the higher, when we will praise thee with 
voice and thoughts and affections not permitted to the 
earth. 



ILotolinea* an* i&opaitg- 

Sunday Morning, Nov. 7, 1886. 
Thou dost accept each servant, dear Lord. 
Thine heart is as a gate, ever open, and all the 



LOWLINESS AND ROYALTY. 155 

royalty of thy kingdom is for these, the humblest 
and the poorest, to draw them near to thee by faith 
and by love. Make the experience and the service 
of to-day blessed in the memory and the whole life 
of thy servants; and while we are in humble rela- 
tions on earth, how great is the glory of that invisi- 
ble kingdom that overhangs us all ! How great is 
that service of love which for evermore undyingly 
goes on in the invisible realm ! Thither our thoughts 
wander; there we gather strange experiences; we 
search for our lost ones; we walk with the holy 
men of old; we rejoice in the joy of that great 
kingdom of love and music; and yet how faint is 
our conception, and how far does the lowest and 
the least in the heavenly kingdom outrun our 
highest thought and imagination ! Blessed be thy 
name, there remaineth a rest for the people of God. 
Tempests may blow upon the earth, and kingdoms 
may rise and fall, and wars may clash and desolate 
the earth, and all things may change in perpetual 
revolution or rebound; but there remaineth a rest 
upon which shall come no storm, which shall not 
be upset by revolution, nor changed except from 
glory to glory. To that great rest we aspire. From 
the weary conflict with ourselves, from our bondage 
to the flesh, from the thrall of weariness, from the 
burden of sinfulness, from all sorrow and all that 



156 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

brings trouble, we turn to that blessedness which 
rests in thy presence. 

Eternal Love, thou art thinking of us to-day, 
and art drawing us; and this is the meaning of 
that influence that is calling out to thee, Father, 
Father ! We are children that know not how to 
requite thy parentage; nor do we do that which 
we understand ; but thou, with eternal love, un- 
searchable and incomprehensible, art drawing us 
to thyself. We thank thee that our strength is 
thy strength, and that our weakness is upheld and 
filled full of conquest by the victorious power 
of Him who loved us, and gave himself for us, 
and who is to make us kings and priests im- 
mortal. 

We thank thee that we have come home to thy 
house this morning, and we thank thee for all 
greetings, for all deep-seated joys, for all hopes, all 
affections, and all purposes of zeal in thy cause in 
the days that are to come. Grant, we pray thee, 
that there may be to-day, not merely an outward 
manifestation, but a manifestation of those deeper 
purposes that are in us of a better life, of holier 
service and of more earnest devotion to the cause 
of our King. 

Bless, we beseech of thee, this Church. Bless all 
the members of the congregation — all the house- 



LOWLINESS AND ROYALTY. 157 

holds that are here represented with us. Remem- 
ber those that cannot be with us to-day, and that 
yet are homesick for us ; and in their loneliness, or 
upon their beds of sickness, or in their strifes with 
misfortune in life, Lord, send to them, to-day, some 
indication that they are remembered, and that the 
sanctuary hath also a gift for them. And be with 
all those, we beseech of thee, that are in trouble 
to-day, by reason of the sorrows and bereavements 
that have fallen upon them. 0, thou that lovest 
them, reveal in their sorrow the divine life; and 
may they not question thee, but only seek to know 
what thou wouldst have of them, to be justified, 
that they may live purer and nobler lives. Bring 
to us, to aid every one of us, a higher standard of 
thought and duty, and simpler determinations to 
lift up our banner, and to march higher and nobler 
than before. 

Eemember the dear children in all our schools — 
the army of those that are coming on; and may 
their feet take hold upon Zion. 

"We beseech of thee, grant thy blessing to those 
that are wistfully looking upon the outward forms 
of life and religion. Bring them into the interior 
of Christian life — the experience of the spirit and 
love of God, and the souFs consecration of Jesus 
Christ. 0, make this a fruitful year. May we sow 



158 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

liberally, that we may reap abundantly, and may 
thy name be glorified in our midst. 

Lord, look not upon us alone. In the great 
thrall, in the wild excitements that fill our day, 0, 
be thou the Guide of the storm, and direct all 
things for the furtherance of thy glory. Look 
upon the nations far abroad. Be gracious unto 
them, and suffer not tyranny nor violence nor 
rude revolution to prevail in the world. More 
and more may thy hand of righteousness be dis- 
cerned in the affairs of men. 

And now, Lord, we ask for higher inspiration, 
for more courage, for more strength, for more 
sympathy with thee in well-doing, that thy name, 
and not ours, may be glorious in the sight of the 
people. We pray for thy kingdom, that it may 
come through the ages long delayed, and that the 
glory of the Lord, at last, may rise upon the earth, 
the unsetting sun that shall shine with blessings 
for a thousand years. 



Grant Thy blessing, our Father, to rest upon thy 
truth, and upon our knowledge of it. Behold our weak- 
ness, our trembling feet, our feeble hand, our faith that 



LOWLINESS AND ROTALTf. 159 

needs every day to be re-illumined, our love that wants 
kindling anew every day, and in thine infinite compas- 
sion pour out thy life upon us. We can receive thee, 
not in the flesh, but only in the spirit. Grant, there- 
fore, that we may so live by faith as to be evermore 
conscious of the movements of God around about us and 
within us, and that we may triumph over the physical 
man — over all memory of the past — over its sins and 
mistakes. May we not stumble at dead things which 
long ago should have been buried. May we revive that 
earnestness, that zeal, that noble purpose, that holy 
aspiration, that higher conception of our final estate of 
manhood in heaven, which inspires us in our best mo- 
ments. Let us look away from things beneath and back- 
ward, and let us look upward and onward, that our 
thought may move toward the heavenly land ere we go 
forth, as on angels 1 wings, with joy, to meet thee and 
dwell with thee forever 



160 A BOOK OF PRATER. 



3htbocattmt. 

Look forth upon our darkness, thou Morning of 
light and of love. There is no darkness nor any night 
with thee. In a settled and eternal gladness they dwell 
who behold thee and are like unto thee. We, too, are 
heirs expectant, waiting. Breathe forth upon us some 
sense of our relationship to thee, and of our treasure in 
thee. Look upon our low estate and nature, and make 
haste to help us, that our evil tendencies may perish, 
that our upward aspirations may gain fullness of 
strength, that above all fear, doubt, worldliness, and 
sordid care, we may rise and soar heavenward upon the 
pinions of joy and faith. "We pray that thou wilt bless 
all the instrumentalities we employ for edification, for 
instruction, for fellowship and rejoicing; and may all 
things, this day, be honorable in thy sight and blessed 
in our using. 



W$t Vitality of <§ootmeiS8. 

We have found it good to draw near to thee, our 
Father, not as suppliants, nor as beggars : for our 
great and abiding wants are provided for by the 
continual presence of thy messengers; and day by 



TEE VITALITY OF GOODNESS. 161 

day the light and the darkness are administered to 
us; and day by day the fruit of summer is borne 
to us; and thou, that carest for the birds and for 
the beasts, yet more abundantly dost care for us. 
We rejoice in the constancy and the universality 
of thy providence; but we are not content to be 
happy in the body and in our outward estate alone. 
We need thee. We need a sense of thy power and 
wisdom and presence. We need to believe that the 
everlasting Being who presides over all human 
affairs is pure, is just, and is full of love and kind- 
ness. We need to know, and to have brought 
home to us as from the very atmosphere, that thou 
hatest the things that are harmful, and dost re- 
joice in the things that are beneficial, and art dis- 
criminating between the good and the evil, between 
the just and the unjust; and that it is established 
forever that the things which work for pain and 
for sorrow shall perish when their ministration is 
over, and the things which work for good are ever- 
lasting. The name of the wicked shall rot, but the 
righteous shall be held in everlasting remembrance ; 
sighing and groans shall cease, but the voice of joy 
shall never cease; and all corruptions, yea and 
death itself, shall die, but love, mounting to higher 
spheres, shall go on forever. This is thy govern- 
ment, These are the courses which thou dost 



162 A BOOK OF PBATEB. 

hold, and into which thou art convoking universal 
affairs ; and we need to have a sense of thy super- 
eminent providence, of thy personal presence, and 
of thy disposition, which is toward righteousness, 
with all joy and gladness. The sight of our eyes 
vexes our hearts; and we behold daily how good- 
ness is supplanted, how evil runs riot, and how 
corruption triumphs on every side; and we need 
something for the sense, something for our faith. 
In thee we have all things; and we rejoice, even 
when we can rejoice in nothing else, in the Lord. 
We trust in the Lord when our sight fails ; and in the 
Lord we are strong; and in thee we shall triumph: 
not by our own might, nor by our own wisdom, nor 
by our own goodness, but by the generous love of 
Him that loved us even unto death, that we might 
come off conquerors and more than conquerors. 

We pray that this truth may be brought home 
to us sinners in need, that in times of temptation 
we may be able to cover ourselves with it as with 
a garment, yea, and wear it as a shield and an 
armor. And may we be able to run unto thee as 
into a fortress; and may we hide in thy pavilion 
till the storm be overpast. So be thou a God not far 
off, but near at hand ; may we behold thy presence 
in every time of need; and may our hope in thee 
be built, not alone on other men's testimony, but 



THE VITALITY OF GOODNESS. 163 

on thine indwelling power, in thine affection, and 
in thy love. 

We pray that thou wilt break down whatever 
middle wall of partition there is. Destroy what- 
ever darkness-breeding thing there is, by the light 
of the glory of God as it shines in the face of 
Jesus Christ. May thy children escape out of 
harm. If their sins rise up between thee and 
them, overcome, we pray thee, all powers that hold 
them in thrall to sin. If it be doubt, if it be want 
of faith, that has them in bondage, minister to 
them, we pray thee, in thy gracious providence, 
that which shall enable them to comprehend thee, 
and be filled with a sense of thy Being, and of the 
blessedness of thy presence. 

We pray for all those who have wandered away 
from thee, and who remember days of love and of 
joy, but who remember them as things that shall 
be seen no more. Lord, we pray that thou wilt 
draw near to all those who have backslidden, to all 
those whose love and zeal are quenched, and to all 
those who have wandered into ways of unbelief by 
forsaking the ways of their fathers. May they 
return to thee and to thy fold. 

Keep, by thine own power, we beseech of thee, 
those who have not yet fallen. Grant that they 
may more and more stand firm in the Lord against 



164 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

fear, against every blandishment, against all ab- 
horrent evil. 

And we pray that thy power may be in the 
midst of this congregation. Revive thy work in 
the hearts of thy people here. Grant, we pray 
thee, that the spirit of prayer may break forth and 
flow as mighty streams flow. May the young be 
filled with the love of God, and with that fear of 
God which is the beginning of wisdom. Wilt thou 
bless all that labor in our midst — the teachers and 
officers of our Sunday-schools, and of our Bible 
classes, and of our missions, and of the merciful 
institutions which thou hast inspired thy people 
to erect. Grant that all of them may be clothed 
with the purity and the sweetness and the gentle- 
ness of the Lord Jesus Christ, that they may 
themselves be burning and shining lights in the 
midst of darkness and trouble. 

We pray for thy churches. We thank thee that 
thou art drawing them nearer together, and that 
thou art breaking down more and more repellent 
prejudices, and bringing into confidence all men 
who are laboring for the same sweet end. May 
this blessed work go on, and may nothing hinder 
it till all thy people shall be as one — one in the 
communion of the Lord ; one in faith ; one in zeal ; 
one in affection ; one in self-sacrificing labor. And 



THE VITALITY OF GOODNESS. 165 

we pray for those who are laboring on the out- 
skirts of civilization, in the weak and destitute 
places of our own land. Bless those who are 
preaching and teaching among the enslaved, or 
those who have just been emancipated from slav- 
ery, and in the isles of the sea, and in the dark 
places of the earth, bearing the knowledge of the 
Saviour. Lord, give them courage, give them 
patience, give them faith, that when the sight 
refuses to cheer and to encourage them they still 
may be able to endure, by reason of things unseen, 
the invisible realities. 



Closing draper. 

Lord, have compassion upon our blindness. "We, too, 
sit by the wayside, and, hearing that thou art passing, 
call out to thee, Lord, have mercy ! And if rebuked, 
with yet more zeal and earnestness we cry, Thou Son of 
David, have mercy upon us ! "We know that thou dost 
hear us, ask what we will ; and we pray that thou wilt 
remove this blindness. Give us second-sight. Make us 
to see things beyond this mortal sphere. May we dwell 
with a perpetual consciousness of eternal life. Enable 
us to fix our thoughts on thee and thy truths from day 
to day and from hour to hour. Help us to overcome 
ourselves, and to manifest in our lives the beauty of 



166 A BOOK OF PBAYEB. 

new men in Christ Jesus. May the services of the sanc- 
tuary this day be blessed to every one of us. Be with 
us through the week. May we rise into the conscious- 
ness, the security, and the joy of being with thee. And 
be with us in our worldly affairs. Deliver us from 
bondage to the flesh. And when our career on earth is 
ended, while men weep may angels rejoice ; while men 
say, They are gone, may the great host say, They have 
come ; and while men say, They are dead, say thou, 
Enter into eternal life. 



THE BETTER LAND. 167 



Inbocatton. 

Grant to us something of that joy which they have, 
our Father, who are redeemed from the trouble of this 
life, and who stand before thee kings and priests unto 
God. For though we are not yet out from under the 
yoke and the burden, we are the sons of God. Of us 
thou art thinking. For us thy heart is warm. Over us 
the Hand that guides the universe is extended. There 
is light to break through the darkness, and the joy that 
comes from the morning to overcome the sorrow of all 
the world. Give to us, this morning, some realization 
of the infinite blessedness of the world that is to come, 
and make us patient in bearing ail the discipline and 
whatever is needful to cleanse us from the flesh, and 
bring us unto the Spirit as sons of God. 

Grant thy blessing, this morning, in every service — in 
singing; in reading thy Word ; in all the offices of de- 
votion ; in instruction ■ in meditation ; in inspiration. 
And may thy name be honored in the enlarging of our 
souls, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. 



W$z better Uatttr. 

November 21, 1886. 
Our Father, our heart's desire is toward thee, 
toward our home, this morning. Behold, how we 



168 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

wander and are lost! See, how unwearied are 
selfishness and pride, that perpetually lie in wait 
for us; how in alternation with that which is best 
in us they rise up with earnest endeavor, and how 
to do good is not present with us. Behold what 
struggle, what slow attainment, what retrogression 
there is, and have compassion upon us; for we are 
very weak: strong in desire, but feeble in the ful- 
fillment thereof. 

There is a land of the blessed where no sun shall 
rise, for days are not measured there; nor is there 
any moon there to give light by night. Thou art 
the light thereof; and all that are gathered therein 
have eternal joy and eternal peace — joy that leaves 
no regrets behind, and peace that chides not. We 
do not know, we cannot conceive, what that life 
must be in which the body is dropped, and the pro- 
cessions of this world have passed away and only 
the spirit is left. We do not understand its law, 
nor its experience, nor anything of it, save that we 
shall be as thou art, that thy glory shall be our 
light, and that thou art the cause of that joy which 
shall forever and forever abide, and fill the cups 
that never empty. 

We rejoice that that great estate is so near to us. 
Thou dost not reserve it always till men have toiled 
through many, many years. Thou dost lead into it 



THE BETTER LAND. 169 

the little ones that have had no experience of earth 
and sin. Thou callest saints from the cradle. 
Thou takest those that are yet children, those that 
from the beginning of their years walk in an inex- 
perienced life, those from out of the burdens and 
the midst of life itself, and those that are ripe and 
strong. Thou hast not filled up, blessed be thy 
name, the whole realm ; and yet thou hast filled 
the seats that waited for multitudes whom we have 
known and loved. Their life is with us in memory. 
They do not forget us. They love us better than 
when they were on earth; and we are hastening 
thither to meet them again, where all care shall 
have departed forever. 

Grant that, in the hope and certainty of this rest 
which remain eth for the people of God, we may 
lift up our head in the midst of storm, undiscour- 
aged and undismayed. May we walk worthy of 
the high vocation wherewith we are called. May 
we not, with coward hearts, turn into complaint 
our experience from day to day, but bear hardness 
as good soldiers. May we not be made haughty by 
worldly prosperity, nor be depressed by adversity. 
May we take all things as sent of God. May all 
experiences, all joys, all sorrows, be as so many 
schoolmasters, training us for the higher life. 
Grant that we may walk with an even mind from 



170 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

day to day, full of hope and full of the joy that is 
to come. 

Grant a blessing to rest, we pray thee, upon all 
that are troubled this morning. As thou didst, in 
the twilight hour, stand in the midst of thy dis- 
ciples, and spread thy hands towards them, and 
say, Peace be with you, so stand in this congrega- 
tion, this morning, and say to every one, Peace, 
from God, be with you. Grant that the light may 
fall upon those that sit in darkness. Grant that 
strength may come to those who are of a weak heart 
and a feeble faith. May the lame walk here to- 
day, and the lepers be cleansed. Grant that they 
who are wanderers may find themselves coming 
back from the swineherd and from their far-away 
wanderings to their loving and waiting Father. 
May this be to them a day of illumination, of hope, 
of joy, and of peace that passeth all understanding. 

Dwell in every household that is represented 
here. Be the God of the little children. Thou 
thyself that didst walk the ways of childhood, have 
compassion upon our children and our children's 
children. 

Be with all those that are in perplexity and 
doubt in regard to their happiness. May they 
know how to cast their burden on the Lord, who 
careth for them. 



TEE BETTER LAND. 171 

Grant, we pray thee, that those who are bereaved 
and who sit in the memory of their great sorrow 
may find companionship in thee, thou that hast 
been the Consoler of ages. While thou knowest thy 
work, we know it not. Thou canst comfort them, 
for thou art the God of all consolation. We pray 
that thou wilt help those who see men as trees 
walking — who discern truths only as mystery fig- 
ured before their minds. Grant that in all the 
truths that pertain to our salvation we may have 
that lens of love through which all things are 
plain. Teach us to discern thy nature, and the 
nature that thou wouldst have in us. In our pil- 
grimage may we not wander from the great high- 
way of the Lord. 

We pray for all the peoples of the earth, and 
especially for all those that are put under our care, 
or upon whom our examples are falling. Remem- 
ber the labors of thy servants, the missionaries 
among our own native tribes, among those that are 
liberated, — the children of Africa, — among all the 
scattered ones up and down throughout this land, 
speaking many tongues, but all of one household, 
all children of God. Grant that they who labor 
under great discouragements may gird up their 
loins from day to day and from week to week, 



172 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

with courage given them from on high, knowing 
that they shall reap if they faint not. 



Our Father, grant that the word spoken may bring 
forth in us fruit unto everlasting life ; and bringing 
forth fruit, may we also by our example and influence 
lead others to fruitfulness. Wilt thou bless us when we 
sing once more ; wilt thou go with us to our homes ; and 
when life itself is over wilt thou bring us to that better 
household and nobler parentage above, whence we shall 
go out no more forever. 



FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION 173 



invocation. 

Be pleased, O God, to give forth from thine i-ifinite 
fullness a supply for our want. Day by day we feed 
upon thee ; and yet the loaf is not wasted. The light is 
not consumed that hath streamed for ages ; and we re- 
joice that the light and warmth of thy nature hath 
supplied our fathers, supplies us, and shall supply us 
forever. Now we pray for thy presence, which we may 
know by the lifting up of all joy and hope and trust. 
By faith we shall discern the invisible things of life in 
our better nature. So make manifest thyself to us that 
we shall feel that which is best of us arise toward thee, 
and calling after thee, that we may become indeed the 
sons of God. Accept the service that we offer to thee. 
Accept and bless all our endeavors at edification, at 
worshiping, at rejoicing in the Lord ; and here, in the 
sanctuary, at our homes, by the way, everywhere, may 
this be a day of thankfulness to thee, and of rest and 
joy in thee. 



dfxom (better atum to (Srenetatum* 

Thanksgiving Day. 

Lord God of our fathers, we draw near to thee, 

rejoicing in the mercies which thou hast granted 

unto us, both in the days gone by, and in the days 

at hand through which we are passing. We thank 



174 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

thee that we have had the pious example of those 
who went before, their love unfeigned, their rever- 
ence for thee and for thine ordinances, their love 
for their fellow-men, and their willingness to sacri- 
fice themselves for the sake of those who should 
come after. We thank thee that by the inspiration 
of thy Spirit through thy Word thou didst guide 
our fathers to the founding of wise institutions, 
to the establishment of goodly laws, and to the 
procedure which has set an example to the ages, 
of virtue in administration. We rejoice in all that 
wide-flowing beneficence which hath followed their 
management of public affairs. Thou hast made a 
city of the wilderness. Thou hast covered this 
land with people. Where before there were none 
to know and recognize the glory of thy power on 
every side, now towns and villages pour forth 
praise unto God. 

We thank thee for the mercies which have gone 
on from generation to generation, dispersing dark- 
ness, overcoming obstacles, finding a way when 
men were baffled, and still, by thy providence 
made manifest in the sight of men, opening before 
the feet of those who went before, a large place. 
Though we have stumbled and fallen into many 
transgressions, and though we have received at 
thine hand punishment for our sins, in the midst 



FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION 175 

of thy wrath thou didst remember mercy, and 
thou hast brought us forth out of confusion, and 
peril, and death, and hast established our goings 
in the way of peace, and hast held together this 
mighty nation which only the omnipotent power 
of God could have welded; and thou art leading 
us forth yet through some trial and some tribula- 
tion, and art giving us strength to bear, so that 
with every trouble comes divine wisdom and divine 
succor. 

"We thank thee for all the unbounded and im- 
measurable prosperity of the field and the sea. 
We thank thee for all that peace which thou hast 
granted us among ourselves; for concord; for 
thriving industries ; for the amassing of substance 
and wealth; for the founding of institutions; for 
the prevalence of law; for the going forth of the 
light of knowledge; for the education of the 
ignorant and the outcast. "We thank thee for 
courts, for magistrates, for judges, and for the 
administration of law by which violence is sup- 
pressed among this great people. 

And underlying all this, Lord our God, we 
thank thee that thou hast built up churches in our 
midst, and that thou hast poured out thy Spirit 
upon one and another, and upon multitudes, and 
that thy "Word has gone forth with freedom to and 



176 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

fro in this land where thou hast established liberty, 
and that multitudes haye been brought personally 
to the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour while 
his spirit and influence have had power in our 
nation. 

Lord God of our salvation, Lord God of this 
nation, Lord God of our fathers, we commend 
ourselves to thy care now, asking that wisdom may 
be sent down from above; and we commend our- 
selves to thee in the future. Thou that didst open 
the way out of Egypt through the sea and through 
the desert and across the river — has thine hand 
forgot leadership ? Still lead this people : yet not 
through the Eed Sea, if it be thy pleasure, but 
through ways of peace, that we may forget the 
sight of blood, and hear the cry of suffering no 
more. And we beseech of thee that thou wilt still 
put it into the hearts of thy people to dwell to- 
gether in concord. Spread abroad the light of 
intelligence by wise institutions, that this land 
from side to side may be filled with knowledge and 
virtue and true piety. 



Our heavenly Father, wilt thou grant thy blessing to 
rest upon the word which has been spoken. Not only 



FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. Ill 

may we have an intellectual interest in it, but may it 
become experimental with us. Hold us back from evils. 
May we not be of those who measure themselves among 
themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, 
and are not wise ; may we be of those who say, Search 
me, O God, try thou me, and see if there be any evil 
way in me. So search us, so humble us, so discipline 
us in every part of our lives, that at last we may be 
followers of Christ, acknowledged by him. 



178 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 



Inbocatton* 

Thou that never slumberest nor sleepest, Watchman 
of Israel, thou that hast brought us out of feebleness 
and the darkness of the night again to light, to con- 
sciousness, and to hope, thou art the Source of our life ; 
and we come to thee this morning. Since thou hast 
granted us the life of the body, and the clearness of 
understanding, grant us that other and better light of 
the Spirit, by which we shall discern, as if by the senses, 
the invisibility of thy kingdom. Especially draw near 
to us that we may have some sense of relationship with 
thee, and that we may feel what glory there is in thee, 
and that it is ours ; what power and wisdom and provi- 
dence, and that they are ours, because we are Christ's. 
And we pray not only that thou wilt grant this reviving 
influence, but that every endeavor which we shall make 
under its stimulus may be divinely inspired and guided 
and blest — the reading of thy Word, the fellowship of 
song, the communion of prayer, meditation, and rejoic- 
ing in fellowship with each other. 



Cfje (ftotrnnimion of Samte.* 

"We rejoice, our Father, that there is an airy road 
which mortal feet can never tread, but which is 

* Immediately following the reception of members into 
the church. 



THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 179 

familiar to those that are in the spirit-land. We 
thank thee that the distance between them and us 
is not great. Though we cannot by our bodily 
organs discern the way to the great life that is be- 
yond, nor understand how it is that they who are 
so silent, and so separate from us, should yet be 
near to us, and should fulfill the functions of love 
toward us, thou understandest it, and that is enough. 
Since it is thy good pleasure that the veil should 
be dropped between our seeing and the things 
seen, we will wait till thine hand shall lift it or 
bear us through. It hath not entered into the 
heart of man to conceive the things which thou 
hast laid up for us. Something has been inter- 
preted to us by the Spirit here; but more remains 
uninterpreted. The height, the depth, the length, 
and the breadth of the love of God as manifested 
through Jesus Christ cannot be known by these 
narrow and selfish hearts of ours. It passes under- 
standing. But there is a heaven made by thy love, 
there is a realm of joy unbounded by human 
thought, and unspeakable by human language; 
and into that state of blessedness have entered, 
how many! How many that have been near to 
us! How many that taught us! How many at 
whose knees we first called thee Father! How 
many that endeared life to us, and made it darker 



180 A BOOK OF PBAYER. 

when they left! They have accomplished their 
warfare, their conflict is over, and they rest. Yet 
they are not insensible to onr warfare and our con- 
flict, which they witness with a consciousness of 
reality that we lack, and with a perpetual zeal 
which we have not. 

We rejoice that there is the ministry and the 
communion of the saints, and that we have the 
sympathy of that great cloud of witnesses who 
throng the horizon, and look upon the level of the 
life which we tread to see whether we carry our- 
selves worthily. And if they could speak again in 
human language, as once they spoke, what sweet 
words of encouragement would they breathe to us, 
urging us to be patient until the end, trusting in 
God ! how boundless must be God's greatness 
to those who are perfected so that they can see it ! 
How strange to them must seem the unbelief in 
which they dwelt when they were on earth, and 
our unbelief who stand without the orb shivering 
in the winter of time without faith ! How strange 
must seem our low estate to them, who glow and 
rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory! 

We pray that thou wilt lift up our thoughts this 
morning, that, broken- winged, lie upon the ground, 
or that crawl when they should fly. Intone our 
voices this morning, that instead of speaking in 



THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 181 

sighs, and with tears, we may speak with joy and re- 
joicing. Give to us a transmuting power by which 
we may see things not as what they are to the out- 
ward sense ; by which we may know the finer mean- 
ings of life ; by which we may see the channel in 
which all these lower and grosser things do move ; 
and grant to us a realization of thine own presence, 
and of our relationship to thee. May there be 
something in our souls to-day that shall clasp thee, 
and not let thee go. May we be able to say with 
all the fervor of love, Thou art ours ! Thou dost 
belong to us because we belong to thee, merciful 
Saviour. Thou that hast sought us, and hast 
found us, and hast spoken to us some words of 
love, we hold thee to thy words. Thou shalt not 
leave us. We will not go alone. We are thy chil- 
dren. We are beloved of thee. For us thou hast 
suffered. For us thy blood has been shed. We 
have nothing of our own to plead, but we plead 
thee. And thou canst not be untrue nor unfaith- 
ful. Thou art our shield; our staff; the food of 
our daily life; the bright star of our hope; our 
rising sun, and our day. Our life is hid in thine, 
and thou canst not cast us away. We cling to 
thee. We will not let thee go — even if thou 
wouldst we would not; but thou wouldst not! 
When all others forsake thine own, then thou 



182 A BOOK OF PRATER 

searchest them out, and speakest comfortable 
words unto them. Though thou seemest some- 
times, by our reckoning of time, to wait long, 
there is no long waiting to thee. Thou wilt 
avenge thine elect, and speedily it shall seem to 
them when they judge as thou judgest. 

Now we beseech of thee, Lord Jesus, that thou 
wilt draw near to all those who have borne thy 
name, and who have sought to bear thy spirit also. 
Grant, we beseech of thee, that their imperfection, 
their ignorance, their variableness, their actions 
and retroactions, may not be numbered against 
them. And yet may they never forget thee. May 
all the souls in thy presence who have been re- 
deemed by thee, and who are living by faith in 
thee, bear in mind their deficiency, mourn over 
their sinfulness, hate the evil that is in them, lift 
themselves to a larger thought of the obligation of 
honor and love, and learn more and more to live 
by the power of the unseen and the unknown. 

We pray that thy blessing may rest especially 
upon thy servants who have come among us to- 
day, and who by their public act have visibly 
united themselves to us. Be very gracious unto 
them, comfort them with the consolations of the 
Holy Ghost, and sustain them in all their pilgrim- 
age here below, that they may walk in the way of 



THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. 183 

their fathers, and have the blessings of their fathers' 
God resting upon them abundantly. 

Be near to all that are in trouble ; and may they 
be consciously near to thee. Open the way to those 
who are perplexed. Lift the burdens from shoul- 
ders that cannot bear them any longer, or put thine 
own everlasting strength beneath them and hold 
them up. 

Grant, we pray thee, that those who are be- 
reaved, and whose hearts have been deeply pierced, 
may have the sustaining grace of God. Thy grace 
can sustain us even in emergency. There is noth- 
ing that can destroy those that trust thee. Thou 
canst lift them up and enable them by faith to 
overcome visible things in this life; and thou 
canst give them victory in death. We pray that 
thou wilt sustain the weak, and the poor, and the 
tempted, and the wandering, and all that need 
thee. Manifest thyself by the abundance of thy 
mercy and thy pity among thy people. 



©losing ^rager* 

Our Father, we beseech of thee that thou wilt grant 
thy blessing to rest upon us in the reading of thy Word. 
"We rejoice that thou hast given us a record of thy deal- 
ings of old ; that thou hast uttered thy thoughts and 
feelings ; that thou hast made known thy will ; that 



184 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

thou hast filled this thy book full of all sweet messages ; 
and that therein we are not threatened but persuaded 
and encouraged. We thank thee for the munificence of 
all that by means of it thou hast vouchsafed to us for 
our education in spiritual things. We love to think that 
it is the book which our fathers read, that we are read- 
ing the lines that comforted our mother, and that our 
brothers and sisters who have gone home went on 
the strength of the Bible by which we are seeking to 
strengthen ourselves. As thy saints in times past have 
been victorious in overcoming the world through the 
strength they received from the teaching of this Word, 
so we pray that thou wilt enable us, through the instruc- 
tion which we may derive from that book also to over- 
come the world, and join with the host of thy faithful 
ones. 

We are grateful for the experiences we have already 
had in its use day by day ; and we desire to avail our- 
selves of its benefits more and more. And grant that 
we may be delivered from all vanity, from all combative- 
ness, from all hatefulness toward other persons, in using 
it. May we accept it as thy blessed Word to us. May 
we wrap ourselves in it as in a garment. May we feed 
ourselves upon it as upon a loaf. May it be to us as 
a fountain, that we may drink of its refreshing waters. 
As a lamp may it light our path. May we heed its 
precepts till we no more need its ministrations. 

Then may the day break that shall know no setting of 
the sun — the day without a sun ; and may we enter that 
land that is without temple, on whose shore beats no 
wave, and on whose sky comes no storm, and where 
God is the light, the joy, and the peace. And to thy 
name shall be the praise of our salvation, Father, Son, 
and Spirit. 



FOR A RESTORATION OF FAITH. 185 



Invocation. 

Forth from out of thine infinite fullness, O thou 
whose thoughts move the endless procession of summer 
in all fruitfulness and beauty, forth from thine own 
self, the Center of excellence, give to us, this day, life 
and light and joy, that we may seem to ourselves to be 
enwrapped by our God, to live in him, to partake of 
him, and to be apprehended by him. Remove all 
doubts, all darkness, all misapprehension from our 
minds ; and as thou dost blow away the clouds and 
storms, that we may behold the stars by night and the 
sun by day, so may our fear and care be driven away, 
that this morning we may behold thee, and rejoice in 
thee, feel thy life and find warmth in thee. This is our 
privilege and thy gift. Behold our weakness, and help 
us to such strength as is needed. May all holy thoughts 
go forth ascending ; and before thee may our poor 
sacrifice — the best that we can offer, and yet poor — be 
acceptable to thee, not for its sake, but for the sake of 
the love which thou bearest toward us, thy children, 
and for thine own name's sake. 



iFor a Hesitation of* dFattf). 

Open our understanding, God, that we may 
discern thee. Deliver us from the thrall of our 
senses; and, that we may not trust them in over- 



186 A BOOK OF PRAYEB. 

measure, nor be mastered or guided by them, 
deliver us from the thought that thou art to be 
found in agents of power, or that the things which 
come to the eye, or fill it with wonder, represent 
thee. Deliver us from thinking that only in 
government, in industry, and in the great world of 
society there is thy power; grant unto us to ap- 
preciate the silence of God, thy gentleness, thy 
meekness, the unrevealed mystery of thy presence. 
Give us an inward light to discern, an inward hear- 
ing, that we may gather what thou hast to say to 
thy silent ones. 0, give us soul-power. Give us 
that power of faith by which to discern unim- 
aginable things, and lift us into those altitudes of 
the soul where we shall meet thee, where thy 
thoughts are powerful, and where every being dis- 
tills influence. 

Deliver us, we beseech of thee, from all those 
misconceptions and overestimates of human life 
that turn upon the life that now is — upon our 
bodily condition. Eor we belong to heaven, we 
belong to our Father's household, but we have lost 
our way back thither, and we grope, we stumble, 
we grieve in discouragements, or we sit down in 
contentment with the things which we find by the 
way, willing to be exiled — perpetually exiled. 

Now, grant unto us, we pray thee, the lost 



FOR A RESTORATION OF FAITH. 187 

hunger and thirst after righteousness — the longing 
for God. Grant unto us that drawing power by 
which everything that is in us shall call out for 
thee. Become necessary unto us. With the 
morning and evening light, at noon and at mid- 
night, may we feel the need of thy companion- 
ship. Wherever our hearts open may we be within 
the sweet influence of thy nature; and though 
thou dost not speak as man speaks, yet thou canst 
call out to us; and the soul shall know thy pres- 
ence, and shall understand by its own self what 
thou meanest. Grant unto us this witness of the 
Spirit, this communion of the soul with thee — and 
not only once or twice : may we abide in the light. 
Thou hast come unto thine own ; and even as of 
old, thine own know thee not, and believe thee not. 
How many are there present to-night that have 
learned thy name upon their mother's knee, but 
have forgotten it ! How many are there that grew 
up into the happiness of a childhood in which 
piety presided, but have gone away, and have not 
come back again to their first love and to their 
early faith! How many who have been tossed 
about in the world have taken their views of ex- 
perience from this mortal life in its lowest forms ! 
How many are there marching on now in the 
Sahara of indifference and in the wilderness of 



188 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

unbelief! How many are there without God and 
without hope in this world ! What shall become 
of them ? Shall they perish, as the fruit ? Shall 
they go out, as a light extinguished ? Lord, look 
upon them ; and if there be present such, to-night, 
have merciful thoughts toward them, and issue 
those gracious influences of power by which what 
is best in them shall lift itself up and bear witness 
against that which is worst. May we have that 
righteousness which is in Christ Jesus imparted 
unto us all. May the things which are just, and 
pure, and noble, and high become to us dearer than 
silver or gold. For what in all the world is worth 
the royalty of our own souls ! What can all these 
things do for us in the day of tribulation ! How 
many have had the reed on which they leaned 
break! How many who have laid up treasure in 
our time have seen it scattered as dust is scattered 
by the wind! How many there have been that 
have broken through the plans of their life ! How 
many there have been that have tasted at this and 
that fountain, and found their thirst not slaked ! 
How many there are who know that this life can 
not build them up nor enrich them ! And though 
they had the whole possession of it, it would bring 
not contentment, but care, and even desolation of 
all that is noblest and best. 



FOR A RESTORATION OF FAITH. 189 

May men come into new partnership with thee, 
they think of that which is best for them. 
Out of all the distemperatures of this life, and out 
of all its temptations and fiery influences, 0, may 
there be some that shall escape, and not be over- 
whelmed with an everlasting destruction. 

We pray that thou wilt enable thy servant to 
speak plainly and truthfully to the inward under- 
standing of all present. Give to them not only a 
hearing ear, but a heart willing to do the things 
that are right. May we become simple as chil- 
dren, not that we may be deceived, but that we 
may follow out the evident intention of the truth, 
and fulfill all its rule and law. 

Bless us through life; and when at last the sign 
comes, 0, let the gates of pearl be opened, and let 
us discern what it means to die : that it is to 
begin life — the ungroaning life — the life without 
temptation and without sin — the glorious life of 
the soul, set free from the drudgery and bondage 
of the body ! 



Closing ^rager. 

Grant unto us, our heavenly Father, the divine 
light and leading. May we walk in the way of the 
Lord, striving after all Christian experience and grace. 



190 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

Thou art our Schoolmaster. May we submit ourselves to 
thy discipline and teaching ; for thou hast called us, and 
said that we should find rest to our souls. O Lord, look 
upon these turbulent unillumined hearts. Have com- 
passion upon the weary and heavy laden. Call again, 
and call those who are in thy presence now, saying, 
Come unto me, and learn of me, and I will give you 
rest. And grant, we pray thee, that when life is over, 
we who have come together in this place, in Christ 
Jesus, and sung together, and prayed together, and 
moved in sweet and true fellowship, rising above the 
weakness of death and triumphing over mortality, may 
meet in the kingdom of thy glory, clasping inseparable 
hands, and giving to the Father, Son, and Spirit im- 
mortal praises. 



THE FAITHFULNESS OF CHRIST. 191 



Jttbocatum. 

Grant unto us, not outward thoughts, but the inward 
movement of thy soul, O our Father. Send to us the 
angels of peace, of gladness, and of hope. May every 
one of us, with a clear sky though it be night, illumined 
with thy coming in the midst of sorrow and trouble, 
have to-day the promise, through Jesus Christ, our 
Lord ; and may we accept him after the inward man 
re-created in righteousness. We pray that we may be 
joined together by true Christian fellowship, in thy 
sanctuary, which thou hast made very precious to us by 
our experiences of days gone by — experiences of glad- 
ness, or experiences of penitential sorrow bringing forth 
gladness. In this place, by thine appearing, lead every 
one to-day to feel that Christ hath come from out of the 
heaven, and hath been enshrined in his own soul. 



Ci)e dfaitftfultusjs of Christ 

Sunday Evening, March 17, 1875. 
We thank thee, thou blessed Saviour, that thou 
art made known to us not only by thy words, but 
by thy work in our own hearts. We bear witness 
that thou hast come to us according to thy 
promise. Not alone hast thou come to us in times 



/ 



192 A BOOK OF PEAYER 

of trouble, but thou hast entered in to abide, and 
hast been a constant Guest, unprovoked by sins 
most provoking, and unwearied by tasks most 
needless put upon thee. Thou hast carried our 
sins, thou hast borne our sicknesses, and our 
trouble has been thine. By the word of thy 
mouth and by the power of thy Spirit thou hast 
given us light and joy and inspiration; and by 
faith and hope we have continued until this time. 
And we are to continue ; for from all the memories 
of the past, and from the blessedness of experi- 
ences not forgotten, we derive hope and courage 
for the future. Having borne us thus far thou 
wilt not readily cast us aside. Having known our 
selfishness, our pride, our vanity, our sordidness, 
our secular and earthly disposition, our life that 
is in the flesh, our stumbling, our ignorance, our 
dullness and our frequent resistance of the blessed- 
ness of thy will — having known these things, and 
borne them long, thou wilt still carry us and still 
bear with us until thy work is perfected. And 
0, how great will be the glory of thy love, and the 
wonder of thy patience, and the beauty of thy 
whole nature and administration, when thou shalt 
present us before the throne of thy Father, spot- 
less, without blemish or wrinkle ! 

We rejoice that our salvation stands in thee, and. 



THE FAITHFULNESS OF CHRIST 193 

not in ourselves. It is not because we are wise, it 
is not because we are fully purposed to follow the 
Christian life, it is not because we are conscious 
that from year to year we are growing toward the 
spirit and away from the flesh, that we hope to 
be saved. It is in thee that we trust. By reason 
of thy faithfulness we have courage to believe that 
having begun a work in us thou wilt continue 
that work until the consummation and the victory. 

And now, Lord, accept our thanksgiving; and 
give us the joy, to-night, of thy conscious pres- 
ence. Speak words of comfort to those that are 
in trouble. Send light to those that are in dark- 
ness. Be consciously near to those who seem to 
themselves to be alone, and cry out to thee in the 
solitude of their souls, and wonder that thou dost 
not hear. But thou, God, dost hear the faintest 
cry. None are in trouble that thou dost not know 
it. Thou wilt avenge thine own elect though 
thou dost tarry long. Thou wilt bring to pass the 
blessings of thy grace in every soul that trusts in 
thee. 

Bless all that are present here to-night, whether 
they are hoping in thee or whether, being without 
God, they are hoping in this world. We pray 
that the ears of those who are accustomed to hear 
the truth may not grow dull ; may their hearts 



194 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

not become hard ; may the word of truth not lose 
its germinating power in their life. Bring thou 
thy Spirit to bear upon their spirits, and bring 
life out of their death, and health out of their 
sickness, and strength out of their weakness. May 
thy righteousness avail with every one, and may 
every one be willing to be clothed of thee, and 
not of himself. If there are those who have 
faintly aspired to live the Christian life, and yet 
have become discouraged, and gone some way 
backward, wilt thou not revive thy work in them ? 
If there be those that are bound hand and foot in 
evil habits against which their whole nature re- 
volts, and against which they cry out — thou 
that didst come to open the prison doors, and to 
break the chain and the shackle, wilt thou not 
look upon thy captives ? And by thy supernal 
power wilt thou not lift them out of the turmoil 
of evil, and the stress of temptation, and the in- 
vincibleness of habit ? We pray for all those that 
are bound; for all those that are in trouble and 
cannot find relief; for all those that are conscious 
of their misery and yet are helpless; for all those 
that seem to themselves marked and sent forward 
unto death. Lord, make thyself to appear the 
redeemer of men. Come, we beseech of thee, to 
seek and to save the lost. Ransom the captives, 



THE FAITHFULNESS OF CHRIST 195 

Bring back again to their lost faith those whose 
eyes and minds have been darkened. Return 
to the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls those 
who have wandered far and wide. 

We pray that, to-night, the Spirit of God may 
fill this congregation with its presence. May 
there be many here whose hearts shall be pricked. 
May there be many whose souls shall be aroused. 
May the word of thy truth be efficacious for thine 
own name's sake, and for thine honor's sake. 

We pray for all those throughout our land who 
are preaching the word of God. May they be 
strengthened in body and mind. May they be 
renewed with royal courage. May those who are 
laboring in new and waste places, and laying 
foundations in the midst of sickness and weakness 
and trial, be greatly sustained by the presence of 
their Lord; may they be convoyed in their work; 
and may there be raised a generation of men who 
shall be willing to lay foundations even though 
other men are to build the superstructure thereon. 
May there be multitudes of holy men who shall 
rejoice to go forth and labor among the poor and 
needy, suffering deprivation themselves, and look- 
ing for their reward in the heavenly land. 

How fast we are marching thither! How the 
praise and the honors of men wither like flowers 



196 A BOOK OF PRAYER* 

that, being plucked, have no roots ! How quickly 
fade the brightest joys of life! We are going 
away from this lower realm. It is not substance 
on which we tread. The air above us and the 
earth beneath us are but visions. The true reality 
is out of sight and out of reach. The ear cannot 
hear it, the eye cannot see it, nor can the hand 
handle it; but it exists. We are moving silently, 
day and night, toward that great realm of unre- 
vealed light where God himself dwells. And we 
pray that as we are drawing near to the hour 
which shall fix our joy and destiny, we may feel 
the shadow of thy wing over us. May our souls 
hear thine arousing voice. May thy truth be 
made mighty in us. 

And now we thank thee for the blessings of the 
day; for its lessons; for its comforts; for its en- 
lightenment; and we pray that we may thus be 
carried from Sabbath to Sabbath, as from moun- 
tain-top to mountain-top, until the JSFew Jerusalem 
shall appear, the joy of the whole earth. 



<£!0gmg draper. 

Bless to our use, we beseech of thee, the word of 
truth, the ministry of the day, the songs of joy we have 



THE FAITHFULNESS OF CHRIST. 197 

sung, the mingling of our affections, our fellowship 
with each other, the hopes which have been incited in 
us and the purposes that we have formed. Thou God 
of the Sabbath that hast given us rest to-day, give us 
strength to-morrow, and every day of the week, to 
carry out our resolutions to live better lives. Teach 
us so to dwell in the higher life of the soul that, being 
pure in heart, we shall see God. 

We ask it in the name of the Beloved, to whom, with 
the Father and the Holy Spirit, shall be eternal praises. 



198 A BOOK OF PRATER. 



Invocation. 

Thou who art greater than the unwearied sun that 
bears light and heat and life without exhausting its 
store, we rejoice in thy fullness. Giving doth not im- 
poverish thee, nor doth withholding make thee rich. 
We thank thee for all thy bounties to the inward man. 
Vouchsafe to us, we beseech of thee, this day, some 
portion, that our understanding may be enlightened, 
that our faith may be inspired, that our hope may be 
kindled, that our joy may be resplendent, that we may 
rise up from dullness and doubt, and from death in 
things spiritual, and come into the bright light and sym- 
pathy of thy nature, that, being sons of God, we may 
partake of the divine attributes. 



Ouk heavenly Father, if we could come to thee 
only in a pure state ; if those only might come who 
are upright and perfect, the whole world would go 
groaning and sorrowing without God and without 
hope. Thou hast cast forth into life the innumer- 
able mass of mankind, that see thee not, and hear 
thee not. We stand in all the avenues by which 
we are brought up, and call out for God, and thou 



FOR UPLIFTING. 199 

art not found therein. The eye sees, and cannot 
behold thee. The ear hears, and cannot hear thee. 
The hand is stretched forth, and cannot take hold 
upon thee. Thou canst not be interpreted to our 
consciousness through our material senses. While 
we gather all knowledges, the knowledge of thee 
must come by thy Spirit. Thou mayest give us an 
inward and new discerning power by the commu- 
nication of thine own self through our spirit- 
nature. 

How can we, then, Lord our God, but wander 
in darkness without thee ? If from thee comes 
life and the power of life, sight and the power of 
sight, spirit and the power of spirituality, what can 
we do but come to thee when our wants press us ? 
We come empty — as we are; we come imperfect — 
we have not yet learned the art of perfection; and 
we come selfish — we have not learned how to carry 
ourselves with the fullness of power so as not to 
be selfish. We come to thee that we may have 
insight, foresight, and knowledge of thy nature, 
and a knowledge of our own higher and better 
nature. We come to thee for inspiration, that we 
may seek ourselves in that which is beyond ; that we 
may live away from things gross, animal, earthly, 
secular, and toward things invisible and eternal. 

Grant, we pray thee, this morning, the influence 



200 A BOOK OF PRATER. 

by which that which is best in us shall rise up to 
greet thee. May we be able to lay aside our bur- 
dens, our sordid cares, all animosities, irritations, 
fears, troubles of every kind — a swarm of the 
night. Grant that we may stand, this morning, as 
children of" light. May the glory of thy rising 
touch our heads and enlighten our eyes, as we 
stand and gaze upon the Sun of righteousness, and 
feel the healing which is in his beams. We pray 
for the forgiveness of our sins. "We pray for 
strength to resist temptation and sorrow. We pray 
for thy sympathy and compassion upon all our 
infirmities. We pray for thy heart's healing of our 
griefs. Deliver us from the thrall of selfishness. 
Deliver us from undue pride. Deliver us from all 
things that are not leavened with a true kindness. 
We pray that thou wilt lift us into such a relation 
to thee, and interpret to us such an understanding 
of divine life, that we shall ourselves be conscious of 
our dignity and of our privileges ; that we may not 
walk as other men, bent and bowed down by every 
storm that sweeps by, but stand steadfast, immov- 
able, always abounding in the work of the Lord. 

We pray, especially, for all who have come 
up hither conscious of their need. We pray for 
those to whom home seems desolate and lone- 
some, and who have sought here some cheer and 



FOR UPLIFTING. 201 

comfort. May the house of God be better to every 
one of us than our own homes. May it seem better 
to us than the familiar threshold of our own resi- 
dence. May it be the gate of heaven to us. 

If there be those who come up hither with hearts 
torn with troubles and sorrows, may they find 
here, not only an hour's rest, but that cordial, that 
hope, that inspiration, that trust in God, that sense 
of divine providence, that faith in the sympathy 
of God to them, which shall enable them to take 
their own trouble again when they go home, more 
elate and more victorious over it, thus making 
themselves superior to their circumstances. May 
we know the divine art of casting our burdens on 
thee and leaving them there. For how often have 
we come and released ourselves for the moment, 
but taken back again upon our shoulders the 
wearisome load. We beseech of thee that thou 
wilt send light into the darkness of the household, 
wherever it is; that thou wilt send joy to those 
who are without comfort, strength to those who 
seem ready to perish with weakness, and the sense 
of divine presence to those who seem abandoned 
of men ; and that thou wilt send cure to those who 
are heartsick. 

We pray that thou wilt be with every one in thy 
presence, this morning, who comes hither in a 



202 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

spirit of supplication. Let them at least touch 
the hem of thy garment, and receive healing. Let 
them meet thine eye in benignity, and know that 
their case is heard of God. 

Bless thou the children of the households that 
are here represented. "We give thanks for those 
who rejoice in their children. We pray for those, 
who, heavy-hearted, would pray for their children. 
We crave wisdom, patience, gentleness, in those 
that are rearing their young for life and for immor- 
tality. If there be children that are wandering, 
this morning, recall them; bring them back again 
to the fold. If there be those who have gone far 
away, and whom the eye cannot see, nor even the 
thought follow, we pray that, wherever they are, 
hidden or lost, they may be restored. thou that 
goest forth to seek and to save the perishing, may 
they be found ! Give renewed confidence to those 
who put their faith and trust in thee. Thy cove- 
nants are sure. 



<ftto*tng Stager, 

Grant, our Father, thy blessing to rest upon the truths 
of thy record. Bless us with the inspiration which was 
vouchsafed to thy people of old. Yield to us the same 



FOR UPLIFTING. 203 

courage, enthusiasm, and usefulness which characterized 
them. We pray that thou wilt revive thy work in this 
church and throughout this community. Grant that 
men may be more earnest in things that pertain to the 
invisible kingdom. May they follow God more than 
they follow men. May they be under the influence of 
the world to come more than under the influence of the 
world that now is. And so we beseech of thee that thou 
wilt raise up in our midst testifying, courageous souls, 
not that defy human reason, but that stand by the 
higher reason of God in the midst of human things. 
Thus honor thyself, glorify thy name, and make thy cause 
to prosper among men. 



204 A BOOK OF PRAYER 



Jhtbocatiotu 

Thou hast drawn us to thyself, our Father, by those 
inward invitations which thy people know ; and we 
thank thee that, by the light of the morning, by the 
memories of days like this, by the rising up within us 
of our own conscious wants, by the fragrance of love 
begun toward thee, by all those emotions and signs 
which indicate thy presence, thou art calling us. And 
here we are, standing before thee, and waiting for that 
blessing which waits for us. Give forth to us divine 
life. O Spirit of wisdom and of goodness, enlighten our 
understanding and inflame our hearts, that we may this 
morning, and in all this day, rejoice before thee in 
sweet and blessed communion. 



Cfje Iribtlcges of Irager* 

Thou hast called us to thyself, most merciful 
Father, with love and with promises abundant; 
and we are witnesses that it is not in vain that we 
draw near to thee. We bear witness to thy faith- 
fulness. Thy promises are Yea and Amen. Thy 
blessings are exceeding abundantly more than we 
know or think. We thank thee for the privilege 
of prayer, and for thine answers to prayer; and we 



THE PRIVILEGES 0% PBAYEB. 205 

rejoice that thou dost not answer according to our 
petitions. We are blind, and are constantly seek- 
ing things which are not best for us. If thou 
didst grant all our desires according to our re- 
quests, we should be ruined. In dealing with our 
little children we give them, not the things which 
they ask for, but the things which we judge to be 
best for them; and thou, our Father, art by thy 
providence overruling our ignorance and our head- 
long mistakes, and art doing for us, not so much 
the things that we request of thee as the things 
that we should ask ; and we are, day by day, saved 
from peril and from ruin by thy better knowledge 
and by thy careful love. 

We thank thee, also, that thou dost give to us 
the things which we ask aright. We thank thee 
that when we ask right things according to thy 
will thou art full of bounty, even as the sun is of 
light, and pourest forth thy gifts freely, and with- 
out measure — yea, dost overfill us so that there is 
not room enough for the blessings thou dost grant 
unto us. Thy thoughts are full of immeasurable 
tenderness toward us. Thy purposes concerning 
us far outrun any conception that we have in 
ourselves; but the unknown, the infinite, we can- 
not hope to comprehend in this life. That we are 
to be redeemed from the power of sin; that we 



206 A BOOK OF PRAYER. 

are yet to overcome that which is of the earth, 
earthy; that we are to rise by the communion of 
love and by the power of faith into a knowledge 
of higher verities; that we are to stand in the light 
of celestial glory in the world beyond; and that 
we are to dwell together in eternal joy with all the 
saints of every clime — these things we believe ; and 
yet we cannot compass them. They elude our 
thought, and run quite out of the reach of our 
feeling. But we rejoice that thou art preparing 
us according to thy Word for glory and honor and 
immortality. We pray that we may have in the 
comfort of these promises day by day an exalted 
joy over against temptation, over against our 
frequent stumblings, over against our sins, over 
against the varied evils which beset us, over against 
our misfortunes and infirmities, over against the 
infelicities of our earthly condition, which shall 
enable us to lift up before our minds the ever- 
present treasure of thy thoughts and purposes and 
administration. 

Thou hast been, like us, tempted and tried. 
Thou art the Sufferer. Thou didst lay down thy 
life for those that suffered, that they might be 
delivered from suffering. Yea, thou hast suffered 
that suffering itself might be sanctified, and might 
be for the good of those that bear it patiently. 



THE PRIVILEGES OF PRAYER 207 

And may we be willing to take thy chastisements. 
May we not find fault with thy dealings with us. 
Though we feel thy rod at times ; though trouble 
is burdensome to us, and though we are sometimes 
tempted to complain, to feel that the earth hath 
forsaken us, that Providence hath forgotten us, 
and that mischief alone pursues us, yet grant that 
out of these doubting and rebellious thoughts 
against thy love we may be lifted up, may feel 
that the Lord doeth right, and may believe that 
the tendency of things shall by and by be made 
plain to us, and that we may learn patience from 
them. May we learn endurance, may we learn 
courage, and may we rejoice that we are accounted 
worthy to suffer. May we learn that the Lord 
lays no heavier burden upon us than he gives us 
strength to bear; and so may we be comforted. 
May we wait patiently upon the Lord, having faith 
that whatever befalls us is for our welfare; that 
he will come in his own time and in his own way, 
and that we shall be delivered; that our feet shall 
stand upon a rock, and that we shall lift up a 
voice of rejoicing. 

We pray for all those who are tried in spirit; 
for all those who are in a necessitous condition; 
for all those who are perplexed, and know not 
which way to turn; for all those who are in ignor- 



208 A BOOK OF PRAYER 

ance; for all those who are under peculiar tempta- 
tions; for all those whose hearts are wrung with 
anxious thoughts which they cannot express; for 
all those who feel that they are alone, who seem 
to themselves to have no guidance, and who are 
strangers in a strange land. To whom can they 
turn but unto thee ? may they turn unto thee 
and take thee by the hand! And wilt thou be 
their Leader and their Guide, rescuing them from 
evil and from temptation, giving them power over 
whatever is wrong, and bringing them into a large 
place, and establishing their goings. 

Wilt thou bless the young that are in our midst. 
We pray that they may be preserved from snares 
and pitfalls. May they grow to a nobler manhood 
than ours. May they advance beyond the line 
which their fathers reach. With growing oppor- 
tunity may there be growing endeavor and attain- 
ment. 

We pray for the peace of Zion. We pray that 
all roots of bitterness may be taken away; that all 
disagreement may cease; that all bickerings and 
envyings and jealousies and hatreds among the 
people of God may disappear. Roll them down 
into eternal night, and let them be destroyed for 
evermore ! We pray that unity and co-operation 
and courage in things good may prevail all over 



THE PRIVILEGES OF PRA TER. 209 

our laud, and throughout the whole world. Let 
thy kingdom come and thy will be done, on earth 
as it is in heaven. 

We ask it in the adorable name of Jesus, to 
whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, shall 
be praises evermore. Amen. 



ariom'ng draper. 

Our Father, we beseech of thee, accept the offer- 
ings that we bring to thee of devotion, of sweet com- 
munion in prayer, of praises and aspirations in song. 
May the recital of our joys and yearnings and desires 
be acceptable to thee. Give to us, not according to the 
wisdom of our asking, but according to thine everlast- 
ing wisdom. Do for us that which we need, though it 
bring crying with it. Chasten us, so testifying that 
thou dost love us, and at the last take us to thyself. 
And to thy name shall be the praise forever and ever. 



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